I belong to Harper Collin's First Look program, a new program that allows readers the opportunity to review new books before they come out. After many attempts, I finally was given the opportunity to review the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Marian Keyes.
I picked up Lucy Sullivan's Getting Married a few years ago when I was on vacation in London, and loved it. Since then I have read every single one of her books, but my favorites are her books about the Walsh sisters. Anybody Out There is the story of the 4th sister, Anna Walsh.
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.
I really enjoyed this book despite the fact that I pretty much figured it out at the beginning of the book. Anyone who has ever suffered a loss can related to Anna's sense of denial. Also the need to want to contact the person you lost for closure, particularly if they've been taken from you suddenly or violently. With the proliferation of shows like Medium, The Ghost Whisperer, and John Edward's show on the Sci-Fi channel, there is a hunger to try to connect with those you have left us.
Anna is a great character, she never felt self-pitying to me, which would have been an easy trap to fall into. You root for her to find some measure of happiness by the end of the book. The only quibble I have is that even though the book is set in New York, it doesn't feel like. The settings are pretty generic. There's a scene where Anna is walking down 42nd Street, and it didn't seem familiar considering how much new construction is going on in the city.
What I love about Marian Keyes' books is her ability to write about what in other hands would be incredibly dark and depressing stories, with humor and wit. Watermelon about the oldest Walsh sister is about a woman whose husband leaves her the day after she gives birth to their first child. Rachel's Holiday is about Rachel Walsh who needs to finally get a grip on her addiction to cocaine. One of the interesting hallmarks of her writing is how she slowly reveals the story. Her characters can be deluded and clueless, and as they make the realization about their lives, it's revealed to us as well.
The other thing I love is that her books are long but they don't feel long. Anybody Out There clocks in at 464 pages. Wow, that's alot when the average chick-lit book is usually no more than 350.
If you haven't read any of her books, I'd start with Watermelon.
No comments:
Post a Comment