Anybody Out There?

By: Marian Keyes

Narrated by: Terry Donnelly

Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Marian Keyes has introduced readers to the lives, loves, and foibles of the five Walsh sisters, Claire, Maggie, Rachel, Helen, and Anna, and their crazy mammy. In this funny, heartbreaking, and triumphant new tale set in the Big Apple, it's Anna's turn in the spotlight.

Life is perfect for Anna Walsh. She has the "Best Job in the World" as a PR exec for a top-selling urban beauty brand, a lovely apartment in New York, and a perfect husband, the love of her life, Aidan Maddox. Until the morning she wakes up in her mammy's living room in Dublin with stitches in her face, a dislocated knee, and completely smashed-up hands, and no memory of how she got there. While her mammy plays nursemaid (just like all of her favorite nurses on her soaps), and her sister Helen sits in wet hedges doing her private investigator work for Lucky Star PI, Anna tries to get better and keeps wondering why Aidan won't return her phone calls or e-mails.

Recuperating from her injuries, a mystified Anna returns to Manhattan. Slowly beginning to remember what happened, she sets off on a search to find Aidan, a hilarious quest involving lilies (she can't stop smelling them), psychics, mediums, and anyone in the city who can promise her a reunion with her beloved.

Written in her classic style, marrying the darker parts of life with humor and wit, Anybody Out There? is Marian Keyes' best novel to date, a wonderfully charming look at love here and ever after.

©2006 Marian Keyes (P)2006 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

"Keyes fans will embrace this as her best yet, and first-time Keyes readers will want to read everything she's written." (Booklist)
"Keyes' trademark blend of humor, diverse characters, and a warm but unsentimental tone strikes gold." (Publishers Weekly)

In grief, ya still gotta laugh...

I'm a big fan of Marian Keyes' novels. I'm an even bigger fan of her fictional Walsh family, who hail from Dublin as she does. Keyes' voice is conversational and sarcastic without being downright nasty. This story, about Anna Walsh, one of the flightier and some may say - loony - sisters, is rich in personality. Keyes tackles a difficult topic with her characteristic humor and sensitivity.

I love this book!

I do not re-read very many books, but I have listened to this one multiple times. The story is real, the characters are fabulous, The narrator is great, and I laughed out loud so many times!!! It never gets old.
Thank you, Marian.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

YES! It's funny and the performance is wonderful..

What was one of the most memorable moments of Anybody Out There??

When she got back to New York and had to start her life..When she met Aiden. When she went to birthing class with Jackie..When Helen went to the warehouse..lmao!

What about Terry Donnelly’s performance did you like?

She was animated and fun to listen to.

If you could take any character from Anybody Out There? out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Jackie! She's great..or Helen she's great too,!

Any additional comments?

When I am having a bad day or feeling blue I listen to this book an ALWAYS get such a great lift..I bet I could say all of the lines I've listened so many times..

Loved it!

I really loved this book! I could see the highlight for the first half coming but enjoyed the process of getting there. There was quite a bit of time spent on side stories that took a little away from the main story but the side stories were funny so it wasn't too bad. Second half meandered a little bit but was funnier then the first half.

lovely torture

okay, so as a Marian Keyes fan, I was very excited to begin this book -- until about three chapters in and then I realized the premise - but by then it was too late. It was like watching a wretched car wreck (no pun intended) wanting to turn away but having to watch every last detail --although the redemption was painfully beautiful. NOT recommended for the faint of heart. But certainly a great read for the "feathery toucher" type...

Love the Walsh girls, but not the narration so muc

If you could sum up Anybody Out There? in three words, what would they be?

The narrator sounds too old for Anna but I could probably get past that if she did the other characters better; the male voices in particular. Great story though.

Perhaps a Better Read than a Listen

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There is an interesting story hidden here amongst the mundane details; the story never hits its stride. Whether it's the timing or the overabundance of extraneous descriptions, but the humor and wit bubbling below the surface never rises up. After the initial

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

While the narrator has a nice, clear voice with good enunciation, she has a constant breathless quality as if almost everything the protagonist is feeling is heartfelt or exasperating... Her pace never varies, is always the same slow rythm, with overlong pauses for commas and periods... it was frustrating during the less interesting segments. It would go unnoticed, perhaps, if the writing itself was more gripping, but the story lacks wit and the narration does nothing to improve it.

Was Anybody Out There? worth the listening time?

As curious as I was to find out if Anna does contact the person she wants to talk to--and to find out the mystery of the doggie do do--I just couldn't keep listening. I was too impatient... so I plan on checking out the book so I can skim through the slow parts and linger over the funnier more interesting parts. As a listen, though, Is Anybody Out There did not work for me.

Any additional comments?

If the things that bothered me are not things to bother you, then I can recommend this listen. If the story sounds interesting to you, though, yet slow pacing and mundane details would be a deterrent to you, perhaps try reading the book instead?

If you like Keyes

I like Marian Keyes books and this is one of her better ones. Not your typical romance novel and very funny and touching. I think that the narrator is easy to understand and pleasant to listen to (she does not do American accents all that well, but in some ways that enhances the telling as it is told from the perspective of an Irish woman and the so-so American accents fit). I found myself listening to this one every chance I got and finished it in one week.

Great listen

Love Marian Keyes and loved this book. I laughed out loud and didn't want this book to end!

Just as enjoyable on audio!

This review contains spoilers. This is a re-read for me. First time on audiobook, but I read the paperback many years ago.

Many, many years ago (I’m talking 10+) I was a chicklit reader. I devoured Jane Green, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly… even Danielle Steel! This doesn’t quite match up with the reader I am now. Somewhere along the way I ditched chicklit and started reading science fiction. I discovered Dune and Never went back. With my life currently experiencing some very big ups and downs I’ve felt the need to go back to my reading roots, so I picked up Anybody Out There? on audio.

I liked this book the first time I read it and I still enjoyed it the second time. It has been over 10 years since I read, so I did remember the basic storyline, but there will little bits I had forgotten. I enjoyed the re-read a lot!

What I like most about this series is two things. One, you can read out of order and it’s okay. Each story follows one of the Walsh girls. Two, the family. There is something wonderful about a close family, that still has its ups and downs, and Marian Keyes portrayed the closeness of this family very well in each book.

I liked this re-read. I found the ending a bit disappointing and yet at the same time realistic. Anna doesn’t quite end up with “someone” in her life, but the hint of someone. She gets her life back on track following the death of her husband, and I find this very realistic. Yet the romantic in me was kind of hoping for someone for her.