Anybody Out There?

                                 From the book cover:
In the wake of a dreadful accident, Anna Walsh is recuperating at her parents' home in Dublin. She is desperate to get back to New York - to her glamorous job as PR assistant for Candy Grrrl cosmetics and to her husband, Aidan, the love of her life. But on her return, Anna is forced to accept that her life will never be the same again.
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Marian Keyes' Anyone Out There? is an easy-read novel about a very difficult topic: grief. I was a quarter way through the novel before I realized that Aidan, our protagonist's husband, was dead. Thankfully, I've never grieved a husband so I can't stay how accurate or 'real' the experience Ms. Keyes describes is. But, I imagine grieving is one of those things where no two experiences are the same.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, but it is not life altering.

Ms. Keyes paints quite a few colourful characters. Most of them are relegated to secondary status and thus don't undergo significant character growth.

Our heroine's character development is mirrored by her physical and emotional healing. Her physical recovery provides the imagery for her emotional growth and rejuvenation. When we first meet Anna, she is living in her parents living room - dependant on them for everything (feedings, medication and bathing). As the story progresses, Anna moves back to the apartment she shared with her late husband and goes back to work. As her physical condition improves so too does she emotional health. She goes from believing her husband is alive (she calls his cellphone and sends him emails) to acknowledging his death and attempting to contact him through a psychic to finally accepting that he is in a better place and she must continue to live her life. As the novel wraps she accepts her husband's death and is well enough to dance at her sister's wedding.

This novel is very entertaining. It's a great blend of drama and comedy. I can almost see this novel being being made into a movie with Natalie Portman playing the role of Anna Walsh and Ryan Reynolds as Aidan Maddox.

3/5