Sheila O’Flanagan He's Got to Go

He's Got to Go

Sheila O'Flanagan

Downtown, Jan 2004, $13.00, 400 pp.

ISBN: 0743470427

In Ireland, of the three Driscoll siblings, Nessa seems to be the one to have it all together. She has lived in comfort as a Riley with Adam for almost a decade and they have an eight year old child. Her sisters Cate and Bree are poster girls for failed relationships.

However, Nessa believes paradise may be lost as evidence mounts that Adam is cheating especially when she consults her horoscope. Nessa wonders what to do as economically she cannot just dump Adam. She has no one to turn to for advice as her mother lives on the other side of the once emerald isle; Cate the crabby one is having problems with her boyfriend radio host Finn over her pregnancy; and finally Bree the mechanic has a host of trouble as she can't get to work on time though Adam keeps her supplied with repairs and the father of her boyfriend is in love with her.

HE'S GOT TO GO is an entertaining relationship drama starring three solid female protagonists about a decade apart in age and even further distanced in how they see male partners. The story line effortlessly swings back and before between the three women though the concentration is more on Nessa, but does not neglect Cate and Bree. The characters are all well developed, not just the three Driscoll sisters. Though the ending ties up for the most part the lives of Nessa and Cate and to a lesser degree Bree, it feels much too crammed inside a short climax. Still the audience will enjoy this fine tale and want to seek more works by Sheila O'Flanagan.

Harriet Klausner