Reviews

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes

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sharonleavy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes was released in 2006. It's book #4 in the Walsh Family series, featuring Anna Walsh, the second youngest of five sisters, as the main character.

Anna is 32, and has what can only be described as the dream job - she works in PR for a make-up company in New York City. But as the book opens, something has happened - Anna is back home in Ireland, recovering from some kind of injury.

Over the next 450+ pages, we unravel Anna's story - what, exactly, has happened? And can Anna ever move on from it? Well, we're all going to find out together, as Anna tries to get her life back.

I hadn't read this one before, but as Marian's upcoming novel will return to Anna as the main focus, I wanted to catch up to speed. Breige @rareopalreads kindly organised a Buddy Read, and it was one I was glad to have - I (foolishly) forgot that Marian knows how to drive the emotional boot in, so to speak, and parts of this book were absolutely devastating. If you're dealing with grief I'd approach with caution.

I enjoyed Anna's story, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she's up to in the new book. I did end up skimming (or skipping entirely) the parts where Anna's sister Helen was filling her in on her career as a Private Investigator - I understood the need for a bit of light comic relief alongside Anna's story, and the set-up for Helen's own book ("The Mystery of Mercy Close") but that storyline just annoyed me and I wanted to stick to the main story. I did enjoy the e-mails from Mammy Walsh, I felt that they broke up the sombre mood at times.

My Favourite Mistake will be released on April 11th, I've pre-ordered it so I'm really looking forward to it arriving!

Thanks to Breige & everyone else in the reading group, I'm not sure I'd have read it otherwise, so I'm glad to be all caught up for next week.

bknight16's review

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4.0

Should probably be 5, but not sure I can give 5*s to a book that has had me ugly sobbing in tropical paradise. Maybe I’ll feel more stable eventually and rethink to 5.
Hugely emotive (not sure I’ve sobbed like this since Me Before You) and gorgeously written in dealing with complex relationships.
Loved the interludes with Helen and Mammy Walsh, definitely needed!
Also lovely to see Rachel and Luke but would’ve liked some more details about their wedding - though, truly, I get that wasn’t the point of the book.
Yeah death is awful and everyone tells you it’ll get better with time and even though it does - this book really goes through the stages where that never feels like it that’s never going to be true.
Honestly love is just the best and the worst thing in the world.
ADORED the part where she realised Aidan wasn’t the only thing she loved.
I liked the Jack plot and the circle of like anger for grief and the dog toy but also it is okay that sometimes like can just be really crap!
Ahhh I binged it in a day and I’m a little broken but I did love it!
But need a lighter relief now!

afarinfallahi's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

alittlebitofjessica's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was perhaps my favourite Walsh family book so far. I absolutely loved catching up with the rest of the family, and particularly focusing on Anna.
I thought the topic of grief was handled so very well in this novel, a beautiful story which will stay with me!

shhchar's review

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2.0

Made it about halfway before abandoning. The plot felt like it was going nowhere fast and I wasn't intrigued enough to keep reading (I didn't realize it was a series which was an oversight on my behalf.)