Anybody Out There was a book that started out really great. However, after a while, not only did it start to drag on, it also started to resemble a mess...a mildly intriguing mess, but a mess none the less. Now, I don't need much from a chick-lit to be happy, but in Anybody Out There, I just needed more.The Good: Part 1. Part 1 of Anybody Out There was the best out of the three parts in this book. The family dynamics, which was my favorite part of Anybody Out There, were more prominent in the first part and were only alluded to in the last two parts. Another good thing was the twist. I definitely did not see that coming, particularly because I thought this was going to be a breezy, easy, funny chick-lit. Definite points for the twist.The Okay: Part 3. Part 3, where everything was coming together, was not as good as Part 1, but way better than Part 2. Jacqui's side plot was funny enough that it kept me interested in Anybody Out There. As unplausible as it was, I was also mildly satisfied with the ending. Although, that could have been because I just wanted the book to be over.The Bad: Part 2. I don't know how something involving mediums could've been so flippin' boring. Part 2 just dragged on and on. Oh, and Helen's emails...also dragged on and on. I found Helen to be funny and interesting at first, but after those emails, I was so incredibly bored with her character. That side plot was just pointless. Another bad thing about Anybody Out There was the numerous side plots. You had the mediums, you had the husband turmoil, the job turmoil, the ex-girlfriend turmoil, and a couple more turmoils that I don't feel like elaborating on. This book just had way too much going on. Oh, and it also stopped being funny at one point.So, overall, I found Anybody Out There to be a dud. No laugh out loud moments, but a couple of chuckles at first. Then, there were no chuckles...no type of laughter. There was major eye-rolling, though. Utterly forgettable and more than a little boring, so I say skip it.
Along with 'Rachel's Holiday' this is probably my favourite Marian Keyes book. What I love about her books is that she doesn't write 'typical' chick-lit. I generally hate chick-lit (well, apart from Sophie Kinsella's books) but Marian Keyes always manages to add a difficult subject (drug addiction, domestic abuse, rape) and deal with it sensitively and intelligently while also being hilarious.Anybody Out There? tells the story of one of the younger Walsh siblings (we've met them before in Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday and Angels), Anna. I always particularly love the stories about the Walshes as you really get to know them throughout the series and the characters feel so real to me (I know that sounds a trite thing to say but they remind me of my mum's family!).When we've come across Anna in the earlier novels about her older sisters she's a bit of an f-up, but in Anybody Out There? we find that she's pulled herself together and is married and living in New York where she has The Best Job in the World. At the start of the book though she's back in Ireland recovering from a horrible accident in her parent's best living room and desperately trying to get in touch with her husband who won't return her calls. Although you'll probably figure out what's coming before it's revealed, there is one twist that will come as a shock, and knowing what's coming doesn't make it any less emotional when Anna finally begins to come to terms with what's happened. I don't want to give too much away here, but suffice to say you'll probably fall in love with Aiden along with Anna (the story of how they met and married is told throughout the book in flashback form) and find yourself a little bit heartbroken as well. A really brilliant book that I strongly recommend to everyone, even if they don't normally go for chick-lit. Oh, and one more thing. Although the book is part of a series of books about the Walsh sisters it doesn't matter if you haven't read the others, but once you've read this one you're bound to want to!
What do You think about Anybody Out There? (2007)?
I've just found out, because I'm reading yet another Marian Keyes book right now, that there is a whole series about the Walsh Family of 5 sisters. Each sister seems to have her own book. This one is about Anna, who looses her husband in a tragic cab accident and her struggle to move on with her life afterwards. It's poignant and funny and sad all at the same time, and the crazy antics of the Walsh family (especially Mammy Walsh and sister Helen) are a great antithesis to the sadder parts. As always happens when I read the majority of an authors body of work, the more I read, the better I like the writing, especially when there's continuity of characters, as with Christopher Moore and Jennifer Weiner. Keyes writes well about the different locations her books are set in, this time being New York. Either she did a ton of research or actually lived there.
—Kat A
This was the first book by Marian Keyes that I've read, and it made me see why so many people like her! She does a great job of keeping you guessing what has happened to Anna throughout the first 200 or so pages, until its finally revealed how she got her injuries and what has happened to Aidan. Normally I might say that a book this long was a bit overdone and could've been cut back on, but I loved every page of it. I was crying by the ending. This book really pulled me into the story and made m
—Jennifer
I apparently already read this book and didn't realize it, that's how not memorable it was. I like Marian Keyes but this just didn't do it for me. It was witty in parts and dark in parts. It's about a woman who lives in New York and she is in a terrible accident and she's taken home to Ireland to recover. When she returns to NYC, she life isn't what it appears to be. She works for a cosmetic company and she has scarring, she doesn't hear from her fiance, she has a screwball family and you know, if the author had taken anyone of those and ran with it, my opinion my have been different. It was a little TOO much in terms of varied stories and storylines. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.
—Martha
