Anybody Out There? | OLS Library | TinyCat |

2024-05-14 5:03 pm

Anybody Out There?

by Marian Keyes

Paperback, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

813

Series

Walsh Family (4)

Tags

senior fiction, humour, romance, Ireland, Irish author

Genres

General Fiction

Publication

Poolbeg Press Ltd (2007), Edition: New edition, 593 pages

Description

Anna Walsh returns to her family in Dublin to recuperate from a debilitating and disfiguring accident. Her family tries to bolster her spirits, while her husband in New York is mysteriously missing.

User reviews

LibraryThing member shanyn

Well. I was really in the mood for a lighthearted chick lit book when I started this one, which was a huge mistake. Marian Keyes is talked about in any sort of chick lit conversation, and I had not read one of her books, so it was time... I picked this one at the library because the little synopsis

I read inside the cover said she was in Public Relations, which I think is a fun career to read about. Little did I know I would be nearly in tears the entire book because of the way the events played out.

After the "worst" part of the book, I expected it to at least pick up a bit for a somewhat happy ending. It WAS happy... at least happier than the beginning, but still not enough to lift my spirits. If I had been in a different mood when I began the book, it's likely I would have enjoyed it (it was well written), but it just did not fit my mood at all. Some of my PaperBackSwap friends have told me I should read Sushi for Beginners next, so that will be the next Keyes I try.

LibraryThing member jlrobinson99

I've already noted in another review for Marian Keyes how much I like her work. Yes, it's Chick Lit and while a little part of me wants to downplay how much I like her books (the literary snob part of me) another part wants to encourage other people to pick them up. Anybody Out There is a good book

to illustrate why I continue to pick up Keyes. (Although she has had some misses; see Other Side of the Story).

I didn't know the plot details of Anybody Out There before I started reading it and I'm glad I didn't because I likely wouldn't have read it. The subject matter is depressing, and when I realized what was going on I started bawling my eyes out, right there in the bath tub which, incidentally, is my favorite place to read. Having gotten over my initial shock I kept going and was glad I did. I recovered from the randomness of life right along with Anna and while my eyes continued to get moist through most of the book (and right through to the end, actually) in the end I was glad I kept on the journey.

LibraryThing member lma0311

I really enjoyed this book, and then went back to read the other books about the other sisters in the family.

LibraryThing member cassiopia_cat

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. This is the first Marion Keyes that I have read and I can't wait to go out and find all the others and submerse myself in them. Her voice speaks to all women...she seems to know all the random thoughts that filter through our restless

brains and also all the ones we deem too embarrassing to air in public. Although this makes for a riotous read it also speaks poignantly about the very real events in her heroine's life.
Thank you....I have found a new author!

LibraryThing member quixotic-creator

Apparently Keyes is the new Binchy. Having limited reading of Binchy's works I really can't compare - but this book is a very moving story, covering the range of emotions - at moments laugh-out-loud funny and then literally heartbreaking. Keyes delivers with strength and although one could say

there is nothing new under the sun, she manages to deliver with a style and zip unique and quirky, leaving one wanting more.

LibraryThing member Amzzz

More serious than I'd come to expect of Marian Keyes, but wonderfully written and once again difficult to put down, proving that Keyes can dabble in serious issues whilst still appealing to the masses.

LibraryThing member emhromp2

I have said it before, and I will say it again, Marian Keyes is my favourite author. This story is one with a twist in the middle. Spoiler: Anna is not abused, but was in an accident in which she lost her husband. The story is about her coping with her emotional and physical wounds, with the aid of

her dysfunctional family.

LibraryThing member Lindyloo

Anna is home with her family in Dublin recooperating from an accident, the nature of which is not initially revealed. She is desperate to return to her New York apartment and her husband, Aiden, but he seems strangely silent.
An entertaining and at times very affecting story. I confess it did bring

tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. However there is just something about Marion Keyes books which can leave me a little cold. Maybe it's the fact that the characters so often seem to lead impossibly glamourous lives with dream jobs and amazing wardrobes. Maybe it's just pure envy, who knows!
I did find the side story with Helen staking out a gangster's wife just too silly and too much of a juxstaposition with the tragedy of the central story.

LibraryThing member NancyJak

This book was really good! I honestly didn't figure out right from the beginning what happened to her and her husband. It was touching but I wasn't really convinced about the old girlfriend business - that was kind of a stretch.

LibraryThing member elbakerone

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes begins with an amnesia plot in which Anna Walsh - one of the Walsh sisters whose adventures are chronicled in other books by Keyes - awakens in her family's home in Ireland with scattered pieces of her life in place. Rather than a cliche novel focused on Anna

regaining her memory, a sentimental story unfolds as Anna must move back to New York and put her life back together piece by piece.

This is the third book I've read by Keyes and so far it is my favorite. The writing was emotional without being overly sappy and the secondary characters peppered the plot with humor and kept a lighthearted tone to a serious story. Technically, this is the fourth entry in Keyes's series about the Walsh sisters, but it is also an excellent stand-alone novel.

LibraryThing member bibliobbe

It had to happen eventually and it would seem that it finally has. I have read and enjoyed a Marian Keyes book. Well, at least it proves that I can approach an author with my prejudices and preconceived notions well hidden. The good thing about this Keyes novel is that there does seem to be a bit

of a plot and it’s not a bad one. At the start of this book, Anna Walsh (yes, it would seem that each one of the Walsh sisters will get their own novel) is being cared for by her family in Ireland. Something bad has happened to Anna in New York, and eventually we find out that she has lost her husband in a car accident in which she, too, was badly injured. How Anna first confronts the loss of her husband and eventually accepts it, seems realistically drawn. Of course, Marian Keyes still writes rubbish and there’s a fair bit of it here. One of the sisters is playing at being a private eye and this sub-plot may win the prize for the worst bit of Keyes’ writing ever. Overall though, this is a mediocre chicklit for a dull weekend. But easily better than the others.

LibraryThing member Norabee

It’s Anna’s Turn in the Spotlight!!

Marian Keyes is a powerhouse – to me, she's a combination of Maeve Binchy mixed with a little Sophie Kinsella but clearly a phenomenal talent in her own right. I think I enjoyed this Walsh sister book better than the others (while, like everyone else,

patiently waiting for Helen’s book) it was funny, sad, long, but in a good way – there was no skimming or counting pages with this read – enjoyable, I’m glad I saved it because there are not many books as good as the ones that Keyes pens and I’m so glad she recognized her talent and is doing what she’s supposed to be doing in this life – Well Done – Bravo, yet again to Marian Keyes!

In this tale, Anna is in her early thirties, married and a victim of a tragic car accident. The story opens with her convalescing at her parents’ home in Ireland. There have been many reviews of this book and I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t go into too many details – if you read the product description and other reviews, then you already know what the book is basically about. There is an interesting twist mid-way into the book that will keep you reading. This was a really good read – highly recommended!

LibraryThing member risadabomb

Loved this book. Not your typical love story but very poignant and touching. It was very real and at times made laugh and cry.

LibraryThing member punxsygal

I feel like I should have liked this book, but I just didn't. The subject was a downer--a woman wakes up with a bunch of injuries and no memory of what happened. And the jacket described the cute things and quirky people that were supposed to help her search for her husband. But it just missed with

me. I was driving back from some errands yesterday with the book on the seat of the car with 180 pages unread and just decided to stop, pay my fine and let the library have it back.

LibraryThing member labelleaurore

Oh what a book to read... I got this book on a vacation in 2006, in the middle of nowhere'land, that somebody had left behind and up until two months ago, it was collecting dust on the top shelf. I was just about to pack all my books and move again when this Anybody out there? cried out to be read.

4 days later and endless nights to read as much as I could, I could not put it away. What a great story and marian Keyes has a way to write the way it is, no softening of the edges here. A story that has grabed my heart and my soul.

LibraryThing member tls1215

My favorite of Marian Keyes' books, and I've read them all

LibraryThing member jjbookseller

classic marian keyes.just when you can't quite get what it is all about,the twist is revealed.

LibraryThing member bowiephile

It's Walsh sister Anna's turn in ANYBODY OUT THERE? Once again, Marian Keyes covers one of sadder parts of life. ANYBODY OUT THERE is darker in scope than WATERMELON and RACHEL's HOLIDAY and a bit of a hard reader for the casual Marian Keyes reader. At times you may want to shake Anna and scream

for her to pull herself together and wake up. But even with the darker plot, still a good read and there is hope at the end.

LibraryThing member timtom

An Irish girl living the High Life in New York suddenly faces a personal tragedy, to which she slowly tries getting to terms with. Sad and funny at the same time, Anna's story addresses deeper subjects than usual with Marian Keyes novels.

LibraryThing member marialondon

I've read all of Marian Keye's previous novels, and it's a little ritual to buy anything new that comes out by her...this time I bought this newest book at the airport, & had a lovely, relaxing time reading it on the long plane-trip. First things first though: I feel it's kind of hard to review

this book since the subject matter is initially hidden (quite well too, I must say) & revealed to the reader when you're well into the book, i.e. have read more than 1/3 of it. Therefore I'll be a bit cryptic about what the story actually involves, & will simply say it follows the life and days of Anna Walsh, one of the youngest sisters in the Irish Walsh family that Keyes has followed in previous books (Watermelon / Rachel's holiday). You don't need to have read the previous books to follow this one- but it might make the experience more enjoyable if you have. This is a fun, easy read, even though at times it's also sad and insightful. It's also a very funny book, as all of Keyes' previous books. Here, as in other of her books, she comes up with hilarious ideas such as 'jolly girls', 'labrodoodles', birthing-class descriptions etc. However true-to-life and insightful the book becomes at times, its main strenght is the laughs you'll get out of it. So it remains firmly and proudly in the easy-to-read 'chic-lit' genre- which is not a bad thing, since it doesn't pretend otherwise. I've given it 4 stars because I think Keyes remains one of the best writers in this genre. So, enjoy- and read this preferably on the beach or on a long plane ride...

LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM

This is the second book I have read in this series, and this time the book is about Anna Walsh. Initially it flips back and forth between the current time and meeting (and her subsequent relationship) with Aidan. The vast majority of the book is her trying to deal with losing Aidan. Whilst some

heavy subject matter, there is also a lot of humour present within the book. I did enjoy this book, like with the first one I read in this series, Rachel's Holiday, and I will be continuing to read books in this series and will try other books by Marian Keyes.

LibraryThing member lhaines56

Really interesting book--starts from the present and works its way back. Coincided with my bad fall and multiple injuries which character also had (but from a car accident) which resonated with me; however, her husband died in the accident. She goes through the grieving process in a very real

basis. Main character is Irish.

LibraryThing member oldblack

Can you relate to a character whose boss at work tells her how she should have her hair cut, and she responds as though this is appropriate behaviour? Would you pay to have a tarot card reader predict your future? Do you think people's appearance is the most important aspect of their life? Would

you feel at home in the women's makeup industry? Then this is the book for you! I started this book thinking that it was going to deal seriously with the subject of death and grieving, but alas, it does not. I'm embarrassed to say that I read to nearly half way before I gave up. In my defence, I had read a particularly gloomy book just previously and was in need of somewhat lighter reading. This is certainly lighter. In fact, if it was any lighter it would be a complete vacuum. As it is, it's just vacuous.

LibraryThing member susancrowe01

I loved this book so much. I have always enjoyed all of the books I have ever read by this author but this one was definitely the best. I was reading along, thinking I knew what was happening. Them WHAM !!! Part 2 and nothing was how I had thought at all. Totally blew me away. WOW!! I wasn't

expecting that at all. I laughed, I cried. I loved this book soooooo much.

LibraryThing member katejhansen

I felt a little betrayed when I finally got the whole plot reveal -- I had assumed the book was going in one direction, and then WHAM...it became a book I totally didn't expect and was a little more serious than I was really looking for in an escape read. I guess it could be my fault for coming in

with too many assumptions/expectations, but there is a big open ended question that doesn't get resolved until about halfway through!

Awards

Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award (Winner — 2006)

Whitcoulls Top 100 Books (72 — 2008)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2006

Physical description

593 p.; 7.01 x 4.49 inches

ISBN

184223272X / 9781842232729

Barcode

2577

More

Amazon.comLibraryThing

Page: 0.7278 seconds