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Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes (view source)
Revision as of 08:02, 14 May 2018
, 08:02, 14 May 2018no edit summary
If you have never spent two days wrapped in the pages of a Marian Keyes book, then you have never felt the sun on your face after a month of rain. I don't know what it is that she does; I don't know the incantation that is invisibly carved into the pages of her books, spellbinding you by page one. All I can tell you is that without exception, Marian's stories capture your imagination and your heart and run away with them. And Anybody Out There? is no exception.
Marian welcomes us back into the Walsh fold for Anna's story. The Walshes are a family that I hold dear in my heart because they are such a disparate bunch (each having their own story, chronicled over the years by Ms. Keyes and [[''Watermelon]] '' being my absolute favourite) all shepherded by the determined and slightly unhinged Mammy Walsh. Just knowing that I was going to revisit them all within these pages brought a smile to my face. Marian Keyes has many gifts although the one that I most enjoy is the easy way that she can keep a completely separate, clever, irrelevant and hilarious sub-plot going throughout the story. It is, in my humble opinion, genius at work. To have Anna's sister Helen as the pivotal character in said sub-plot puts her into [[:Category:Stephen Hawking|Stephen Hawking]] territory. Helen is as crazy and comical as they come and perfect for the part.
Now, having told you how funny Marian Keyes books are, the Walsh Dynasty in particular, you should also know that not many books make me cry. I can count them on the fingers of one hand Charlotte's Web, The Green Mile, Pride and Prejudice and Anybody Out There? See? I didn't even use thumbs. Anybody Out There? made my throat ache with the upsweep of the tale, the seamless flow of prose and the joy of a satisfying and judicious ending.