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Out of the Blue [Hardcover]

Sally Mandel (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)


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Book Description

February 29, 2000
At once heart-wrenching and funny, poignant and provocative, here is a rare novel about finding the courage to take a remarkable leap of faith. Smart, funny Anna Bolles, a born athlete and a dynamic teacher, figures God decided to have the last laugh when her life was tragically and irrevocably changed five years ago. Since then she has kept herself firmly grounded in the present with the door marked "future" shut.

Anna's days are filled with the vibrancy of summer in New York City where she takes joy in the details, the sensual assault of an air-conditioned museum and a perfectly baked muffin. She relishes her role as an observer to the dramas played out around her--from the adolescent courtships of her private school students to the turbulent love affairs of friends and colleagues. Yet Anna never dares to open her heart, except to the father who has drifted from her and the mother who sustains her, until the one thing she didn't think could happen becomes a twist of fate that may just set her free. Until Joe Malone.

Joe Malone, pilot, businessman, amateur photographer, is a man who has everything except happiness. Though he's notorious for his short attention span, he sees in Anna a world of possibilities. Maybe Joe, a man who has only been skimming the surface of life, has finally found a perfect place to land. He thinks he wants a life with Anna no matter what and seems willing to risk everything to be with her. But can he trust himself enough to give their deepest dreams the chance to flourish?

Through laughter and tears, from the depths of heartbreak to the pinnacle of joy, Sally Mandell never fails to remind readers of the things that matter most in life. Now she has written her most dazzling novel yet--a very special story about two unique people whose love comes from seemingly out of the blue.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Romance novels promise happiness only after struggle and heartache, and with her fifth book, Mandel (Change of Heart) delivers as expected, but with a twist. New York private school teacher Anna Marie Bolles has suffered from intermittent bouts of MS for five years. She's constructed her life to accommodate her disease: she lives with her spirited, fiercely loyal mother in Manhattan; she teaches English at the high school where she herself was a student; and she's almost entirely given up the athletics she used to love. But just when it seems MS is all she has, she wheels herself into the American Institute of Photography and meets strikingly handsome 31-year-old Joe Malone, businessman-cum-photographer. The chemistry is so intense that when Anna describes him to her mother later, she can only wail, "He swept me off my feet, Ma... and I wasn't even on my feet." But Anna has not done her emotional homework, and the rest of the narrative is a monotonous will-she-or-won't-she dance as she tries to reconcile her fears about a future with MS with her hopes for a future with Joe. The secondary characters in Anna's life are well drawn, and Mandel treats her readers to enjoyable subplots involving Anna's dastardly father, Joe's neglected father (a pilot who started the charter airline Joe works for), a womanizing headmaster and a glamorous femme fatale. Unfortunately, Joe is so devoted and selfless that he's bland, and much of the narrative tension derives from the progress of Anna's MS rather than of her romance. But if largely predictable, the novel succeeds as a moving and satisfying love story. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In a romance that will entice and satisfy readers of mainstream or "substantial" fiction, Mandel's beautiful heroine, a twenty-nine-year-old teacher, and the dashingly gorgeous hero, an airline pilot-owner and photographer, joined by the cruel presence of multiple sclerosis. Anna Bolles, formerly very athletic, thinks she has come to terms with her MS, but when she visits a photography exhibit she is swept off her feet by Joe Malone and one of his photographs, an epiphany that throws her plans of living quietly with her disease into utter disarray. Mandel masterfully depicts MS and its depredations and brings a cast of secondary characters, which are essential to portraying a convincing relationship, vibrantly to life, from Anna's unforgettably foul-mouthed mother to Joe's dad, who can "fix anything," to the school-faculty bully. Mandel's newest is a robust novel filled with laughter and tears that is ideal for readers who only think they don't like romances. Diana Tixier Herald

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (February 29, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345428900
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345428905
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,192,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Special relationship drama, March 1, 2000
This review is from: Out of the Blue (Hardcover)
It has been five years since multiple sclerosis struck Anna Bolles. Even beyond those periods when Anna requires a wheelchair, her mother and she feel the impact of the disease as part of their daily lives. Not quite the athlete she once was, Anna understood why her long time steady Bobby Zaklow ultimately bailed out of their relationship. Outside of her mother, Anna does not allow anyone, including herself, her students at a private Manhattan high school, nor her peers to get close to her.

Her role as a marvelous watcher ends when she meets Joe Malone at an art show exhibiting his photographs. The amateur photographer enjoys the hobby, but he earns his living as the marketing manager for a small upstate New York air charter service. Anna questions Joe's commitment to living and he inquires why she has given up on relationships. As their feelings turn to love, both of them ponders whether they can entrust their heart, body, and soul to the other for a lifetime.

OUT OF THE BLUE is a typically wonderful Sally Mandel contemporary romance. The character-driven story line centers on relationships. Anna is a witty protagonist who uses humor to self-deprecate while remaining outside the emotional fray of deep interaction. Joe is a fabulous hunk who mentally contends with his own demons involving whether or not he can cope with his beloved's illness. Mama Bolles is an in-your-face secondary player who provides jocularity while helping the audience see inside the lead players. Even the support cast is fully developed as Ms. Mandel shows why she is a New York Times best-selling author.

Harriet Klausner

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Compellingly true . . ., June 19, 2000
This review is from: Out of the Blue (Hardcover)
As a polio survivor, I rarely have read a book that speaks truthfully to the fears and insecurities of surviving with a physical handicap. Although MS is not my story, I could easily identify with the feeling of self-consciousness, the fear of rejection, and the longing to be normal. Yes, the author creates incredibly attractive protagonists, but Sally Mandel does understand emotional suffering and is able to lead the reader to optimistic resolution. The process is not easy, yet with acceptance and humor, life becomes so much more worth living.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT! WELL RESEARCHED!, May 10, 2000
This review is from: Out of the Blue (Hardcover)
I read a review on this book and learned that the main charachter has MS (multiple sclerosis.) That's what caught my attention. I have multiple sclerosis and wanted to read a story that deals with this particular disease. All I can say it that Sally really researched ALL the aspects of MS. She was very knowledgable. The love story between the 2 main characters was excellent. Her fearing having to be taken care of down the road and his utter devotion to her. VERY REALISTIC....alot of thoughts the main character had are very similar to the ones that I have. This is my first book by this author and will definately look for more. Very easy read and held my interest to the end. BRAVO SALLY!
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I pictured God feeling a little bored one morning and sifting through his files until he found my name. Read the first page
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Duncan Reese, New York, Big Bob, Joe Malone, Father Dewbright, Lola Falcon, Leonard Chubb, West Side, Michelle Cross, Rudy Steinberger, Celeste Malone, New Year's Eve, Norma's Crust, North Lockville, Dakota Blue, Deke Cross, Harrison Ford, Anna Bolles, Grant Hurst, Jessica Lassiter, Bobby Zaklow, Dee Sunderland, Johnny Depp, Lana Turner, Marlon Brando
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