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Anybody Any Minute
Ellen Kenny has a big mouth and a penchant for telling the truth, which is why she’s just been fired from yet another high-profile NYC job. Determined to make the most of this unexpected free time, she heads to Montreal to visit her sister. On the way, she spots a tumbledown upstate farmhouse---one she’s seen in her dreams for years---and impulsively buys it on a hefty credit card advance. Over her husband’s protests, Ellen decides to drop out of the rat race and spend the summer living out her woman-who-runs-with-the wolves fantasy, communing with nature---her own included---in an effort to confront middle age and figure out how on earth she got there. Rather than peacefully tend her garden and puzzle things out, however, Ellen soon becomes embroiled in the exceedingly unique problems of two redneck, social misfit neighbors---an ex-biker and an aging chainsaw sculptor---while taking care of a narcoleptic dog and a child who doesn’t speak English. With Ellen’s quest for meaning and her concern for the welfare of others driving the plot, Anybody Any Minute is deeply layered, heartbreaking . . . and hilarious.
- GenresFictionWomens Fiction
352 pages, Hardcover
First published May 27, 2008
1 person is currently reading
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 19, 2008
There’s a tremendous intimacy in Julie Mars’ writing. It’s as if she were an old friend, confiding secrets. That isn’t to say that her latest book Anybody Any Minute doesn’t create a fictive dream. The protagonist Ellen Kenny comes across as real, and the story, despite its quirky turns, is also believable. As the novel opens, Forty Five year old Ellen is in trouble. Despite having just lost her job, she purchases a run down house in the country on her credit card for reasons she can’t fathom, and her husband Tommy is furious. After seventeen years of marriage, she suddenly realises that she can’t connect with her husband (who is contemplating an affair), her new house is full of problems, her neighbours are bizarre, and her sister experiences a tragedy that leaves Ellen taking care of a 2 year old who doesn’t speak English. Add in the unexpected custody of a depressed dog, and Ellen find herself way over her head. It’s a situation that only the finest “open-your-heart” herbal tea, acupuncture treatments, extensive research, an artistic chainsaw, and lots of spontaneous love can sort out.
To call this book charming would be an understatement. As a character, Ellen might be irritating and self-centred in a lesser author’s hands, but instead Julie Mars creates a woman whose mid-life soul searching comes across as believable and important. Ellen’s excessive interest in the lives of the strangers she meets has a bit of naivety to it. It’s the antithesis of the way people in her native New York City approach one another, but her behaviour is also moving. Ellen lets people in and then gives back without reservation, a quality which she notes, is generally lacking in our modern world.
Ellen’s search drives the narrative on, and her philosophical musings and refusal to take things at face value turn what looks like a no-win situation with no-hope characters into something entirely different. There are moments when Ellen’s musings go quite deep, enriching the novel beyond its light-hearted fast moving plot.
Other characters like Rayfield of Porkerville, whose wife “Wide Load” has left him and who is selling his entire beer can collection along with his motorcycle leathers, or the chainsaw wielding Rodney, are as well crafted as they are funny. There are moments, such as Rayfield’s attempts at re-enacting Dustin Hoffman’s role in The Graduate, or Ellen’s impulsive buying which range from the house itself to fork bracelets and silk kimonos, where the reader is laughing outloud. But the narrative never descends into farce, buoyed as it is by the relationship between Ellen and her nephew Olivier, between Ellen and her sister, and between Ellen and the people she meets in this journey which parallels her dreams. The previous owner, Viola, is as intriguing as she is absent, and Mars handles her lightly, but still makes her a powerful muse for Ellen, leading the book to its rich conclusion. For anyone who was young in the 1960s or for women over forty, Anybody Any Minute will have particular interest. The historical context is melded neatly with the psychological. While there’s definitely a feminine edge to this book, Anybody Any Minute is the kind of book you can read quickly in the airport, or on the beach, for pure entertainment, or more deeply, for the themes it illuminates. Julie Mars’ latest novel
tows a wonderful line between humour, introspection, and powerful characterisation.
To call this book charming would be an understatement. As a character, Ellen might be irritating and self-centred in a lesser author’s hands, but instead Julie Mars creates a woman whose mid-life soul searching comes across as believable and important. Ellen’s excessive interest in the lives of the strangers she meets has a bit of naivety to it. It’s the antithesis of the way people in her native New York City approach one another, but her behaviour is also moving. Ellen lets people in and then gives back without reservation, a quality which she notes, is generally lacking in our modern world.
Ellen’s search drives the narrative on, and her philosophical musings and refusal to take things at face value turn what looks like a no-win situation with no-hope characters into something entirely different. There are moments when Ellen’s musings go quite deep, enriching the novel beyond its light-hearted fast moving plot.
Other characters like Rayfield of Porkerville, whose wife “Wide Load” has left him and who is selling his entire beer can collection along with his motorcycle leathers, or the chainsaw wielding Rodney, are as well crafted as they are funny. There are moments, such as Rayfield’s attempts at re-enacting Dustin Hoffman’s role in The Graduate, or Ellen’s impulsive buying which range from the house itself to fork bracelets and silk kimonos, where the reader is laughing outloud. But the narrative never descends into farce, buoyed as it is by the relationship between Ellen and her nephew Olivier, between Ellen and her sister, and between Ellen and the people she meets in this journey which parallels her dreams. The previous owner, Viola, is as intriguing as she is absent, and Mars handles her lightly, but still makes her a powerful muse for Ellen, leading the book to its rich conclusion. For anyone who was young in the 1960s or for women over forty, Anybody Any Minute will have particular interest. The historical context is melded neatly with the psychological. While there’s definitely a feminine edge to this book, Anybody Any Minute is the kind of book you can read quickly in the airport, or on the beach, for pure entertainment, or more deeply, for the themes it illuminates. Julie Mars’ latest novel
tows a wonderful line between humour, introspection, and powerful characterisation.
April 21, 2011
I thought this was an okay book. The main character was interesting enough however the plot didn't grab my interest and keep it. I think the story was just a little too contrived for my taste. I am not sad I read it, but it is definitely not worth the trouble it took to find it since it is not available on kindle. I won't spoil the ending but it was weird. The more I think about it, this just wasn't that good of a book. None of the characters were developed in a way that made you fall in love with them and want to really know their stories. I am an easy to please reader so I certainly didn't hate it, but I am an easy to please reader and I also didn't love it.
December 24, 2018
2.5 stars
August 6, 2013
3 and 1/2 Stars
This book was so much fun. I do so love a character-driven novel and the story in this one truly took a backseat to the characters. Ellen is a former flower child with a mouth that runs away with her and often lands her in water way over her head. But she keeps bobbing up, trying to find the shore of peace and sanity. After one such episode, which cost her the latest in a lifelong string of jobs, Ellen heads out of New York City to Montreal to visit her sister. One the way, she is struck by the sight a tumble-down cottage - the house of her dreams - literally. Because she has seen just such a country cottage in numerous dreams over the years she takes it as a sign, and without thinking about it or even consulting her long-suffering husband, she buys it with her credit card! The place is long abandoned and needs more work than any sane person would take on but Ellen proceeds, full steam ahead, even when it means she has to clear land and haul the water by hand for the garden she creates, even when she ends up taking care of her non-English-speaking toddler nephew and a narcoleptic dog for the summer, even as she puts her marriage in jeopardy and tries to help both a red-neck with a rare and fascinating condition and an aging chain-saw sculptor. Ellen plunges through her life, seizing the day, trying in her way to put the circumstances of that life into meaningful context, often with more heart than common sense. She is a true character and I am going to miss her and her friends, though I will remember them fondly, I'm sure.
This book was so much fun. I do so love a character-driven novel and the story in this one truly took a backseat to the characters. Ellen is a former flower child with a mouth that runs away with her and often lands her in water way over her head. But she keeps bobbing up, trying to find the shore of peace and sanity. After one such episode, which cost her the latest in a lifelong string of jobs, Ellen heads out of New York City to Montreal to visit her sister. One the way, she is struck by the sight a tumble-down cottage - the house of her dreams - literally. Because she has seen just such a country cottage in numerous dreams over the years she takes it as a sign, and without thinking about it or even consulting her long-suffering husband, she buys it with her credit card! The place is long abandoned and needs more work than any sane person would take on but Ellen proceeds, full steam ahead, even when it means she has to clear land and haul the water by hand for the garden she creates, even when she ends up taking care of her non-English-speaking toddler nephew and a narcoleptic dog for the summer, even as she puts her marriage in jeopardy and tries to help both a red-neck with a rare and fascinating condition and an aging chain-saw sculptor. Ellen plunges through her life, seizing the day, trying in her way to put the circumstances of that life into meaningful context, often with more heart than common sense. She is a true character and I am going to miss her and her friends, though I will remember them fondly, I'm sure.
Want to Read
May 18, 2009Book Jacket:
Ellen Kenny has some unexpected free time on her hands
because she's just been fired for not controlling her big
mouth. A bit disgruntled with life in New York and a bit
restless in her long marriage, she heads off to Montreal
to visit her sister. But on the way, she spots a decrepit
house, impulsively buys it, and moves there for the
summer. Expecting to become a woman-who-runs-with-the-
wolves, she finds herself catapulted into a comedy of the
absurd instead. She befriends two local rednecks--an ex-
biker and an aging chainsaw sculptor--and, by a twist of
fate, becomes the full-time caregiver to her sister's
toddler. With all her familiar inner and outer landmarks
removed, Ellen careens, crawls, skips, and trudges toward
her goal: emotional and, perhaps, even spiritual
equanimity.
Ellen Kenny has some unexpected free time on her hands
because she's just been fired for not controlling her big
mouth. A bit disgruntled with life in New York and a bit
restless in her long marriage, she heads off to Montreal
to visit her sister. But on the way, she spots a decrepit
house, impulsively buys it, and moves there for the
summer. Expecting to become a woman-who-runs-with-the-
wolves, she finds herself catapulted into a comedy of the
absurd instead. She befriends two local rednecks--an ex-
biker and an aging chainsaw sculptor--and, by a twist of
fate, becomes the full-time caregiver to her sister's
toddler. With all her familiar inner and outer landmarks
removed, Ellen careens, crawls, skips, and trudges toward
her goal: emotional and, perhaps, even spiritual
equanimity.
April 10, 2009
In Julie Mars' novel I literally laughed out loud every few pages, constantly surprised by the author's dead-on language and descriptions of characters. There's a certain Wizard of Oz quality to this story in which the female protagonist sets out on a completely new path. As fate has it, she must learn to let her old self and new self intertwine and grow in the same direction like the tomatoes that sprout up in her new garden. Sometimes it's not about the differences between the city and the country but more about how you take ownership for what lies on the road in between. Overall, I found this book thoroughly satisfying, like a full-bodied Saranac Black&Tan that you drink on the porch of an old cottage. It made me thirsty for summer and road trips and gardens and Montreal.
September 26, 2012
On a whim, Ellen buys a country home, tumbledown but charming, and charges it to her credit card. Recently fired from her New York City job, she decides to spend the summer in the country, much to the surprise of her urban loft-dwelling husband Tommy. Once she settles in, she starts an organic garden, becomes involved with new neighbors' lives (whether they like it or not!) and becomes a pseudo-Mom to her toddler nephew. What follows is a heart-breaking, uplifting and often hilarious story of change and growth in middle-age. I enjoyed the story, since I am partial to stories involving the repair and improvement of old houses, but Ellen's story really drew me in. I recommend the book.
November 30, 2012
Anybody Any Minute is full of offbeat endearing characters I was very sorry to have to leave at the end of the book. Ellen, a married middle-aged New York City resident and former hippie, is on a trip to visit her sister in Montreal when she impulsively buys a ramshackle house in the country by charging the purchase on her credit card. Ellen barges her way through life in search of truth, human connection and spiritual growth, both delighting and infuriating her husband and the other people around her. Moving into her new home puts her marriage at risk, but she (and we) quickly become wrapped up in the surprisingly strange and rich lives of the people in the little village of Eagle Beak.
September 11, 2009
My initial reaction was I didn't like the book. Too much profanity and the ending was vague. Now that I'm done with the book, I find myself wondering about all funny "characters". I found myself going back and skimming some of the last chapters. I was so focused on finding out how the book would end that I missed so many of the thought-provoking words of wisdom. I may read the book again sometime and try to do a better job of listening to what I read. I leave this book for now with the challenge of the the main character's mission statement "Do good and be love:!
June 24, 2013
It's not the first time she's been fired, but when 46-year-old Ellen Kenny hits the road heading north out of NYC to Montreal to see her sister, things takes a new turn.
On impulse, she buys an old farm and starts a new life -- risking her marriage and her sanity -- pursuing her new authentic self. Set in the North Country of Northern New York, and full of laugh-out-loud observations and situations, this is a wonderful and touching novel.
On impulse, she buys an old farm and starts a new life -- risking her marriage and her sanity -- pursuing her new authentic self. Set in the North Country of Northern New York, and full of laugh-out-loud observations and situations, this is a wonderful and touching novel.
July 14, 2009
I liked this funny novel, and found it to be a nice change of pace from the heavier novels I've been reading. The peculiar characters are hilarious but real. I liked how the various relationships evolved, and also how the characters dealt with existential questions that raised the novel above the light level I initially perceived.
June 15, 2009
Middle age Ellen - main character philosophical
"doing good and being love"
deeper wisdom of our dreams
good characterization / twisted plot
funny - sad - romantic
some language and sex
main character buys a farm, lives without her husband, takes care of niece, learns about herself and marriage
ending is a little unclear
"doing good and being love"
deeper wisdom of our dreams
good characterization / twisted plot
funny - sad - romantic
some language and sex
main character buys a farm, lives without her husband, takes care of niece, learns about herself and marriage
ending is a little unclear
November 25, 2008
Julie Mars fits into the Elizabeth Berg relationship category of books. Her main character has more of a bad-girl past than one usually finds, which made it interesting. She also chooses difficult secondary characters. It was good.
December 30, 2008
Pretty good story. About a woman who, while driving through the country, buys a decrepit house on her credit card, leaves her husband to spend the summer there, ends up caring for her nephew, a dog, etc. Interesting story.
December 31, 2008
excellent novel, written well, makes you think between the chapters about the frailty of relationships. Has some elements of sustained belief that fit the story well but some may find hard to accept.
January 25, 2009
I found this book very frustrating. I couldn't decide if I liked Ellen, the main character, or if I wanted to slap her. I guess overall I liked the book, but a couple of times I thought about putting it down. I wanted Ellen to listen to herself once in a while and stop being such a bitch.
February 19, 2009
After losing her job, Ellen Fenny buys a cottage with her credit cards and moves there for the summer, apart from her husband in NYC. She fills her time gardening, baby-sitting and making friends with characters in the neighborhood. Humorous, satisfying.
June 12, 2009
If you are a woman over 50 this book will surely speak to you...if not, you will still love this book. I liked it so much I immediately went out and purchased her next one (A Month of Sundays) which is wonderful as well, just not in the same way. Read it an you will see what I mean.
August 28, 2009
This was my pick for the book club this year. I thought the middle was kind of slow, but did enjoy the characters even though some of it seemed unrealistic. I hope it generates good discussions next month!
July 26, 2012
Ellen escapes city life to make sense of her life. She faces challenges buying a handy man dream house and ends up making unlikely friends and becoming a substitute mother. It is a quick, enjoyable summer read.
February 19, 2015
I enjoyed this book overall even though the friend's condition was a little odd and there was a token illness. I would love to do what she did on a whim. The small town stuff was fun. I chose the book based on the cover and was pleasantly surprised.
June 12, 2008
So enjoying this one about a 46 yr. old woman in a midlife crisis. Totally laughing outloud in parts!!
July 12, 2008
I enjoyed the story, but it took a long time to get into and to read at over 300 pages.
August 31, 2008
mid life crisis can be so eye opening. Life is about caring for others and caring for yourself
January 27, 2009
This story was a fun read. The character delevopment was surprising. Enough twists and turns to keep my interest.
November 11, 2008
I started this Friday and I'm almost done...(put the other aside), it's pretty good.
January 2, 2009
This book is well written, entertaining, and thoughtful. Also, very funny!
February 21, 2009
Excellent book about mid-life crisis. I laughed so hard I cried!! Also very insightful, and moving. I highly recommend reading this one.
partially-read
March 9, 2009I read it to page 16, from BAMM Fiction Book Club. Uninteresting.
May 20, 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot was fast moving and the characters were a delight.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews