Product Description

Gemma Garvey's marriage has been over for ages. Gemma ended it and chose to be a single mother rather than continue the pretence that her marriage to work-obsessed David Hennessy was working. So why is she so upset when he marries bimbo Orla O'Neill? Is it that Orla's thin and gorgeous whilst Gemma at 35 feels more like 55? Or that David's starting a new life whilst she's facing middle age alone? For Orla being wife no. 2 isn't all she's imagined, always aware of how Gemma coped with a house, family and job while she can't even cook dinner without setting the kitchen alight. To David, who has loved them both, there isn't a problem. But the trouble's just begun...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #216214 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sheila O'Flanagan admirers will undoubtedly rate Far From Over as among her best yet. Having already achieved considerable acclaim for such charming and involving books as Dreaming of a Stranger, her work is distinguished by its combination of warmth and spry humour, which makes the narratives quite unlike those of any other author. Gemma, her heroine here, is considering how to end the moribund marriage she is caught in. When she makes the decision to go it alone with two kids, she finds herself surprised that she is so resentful when her career-obsessed husband David marries Orla, whom Gemma finds to be a brainless redhead. But Orla has her own problems as she wonders how she will follow the super-efficient Gemma when it comes to running a home; she can't even cook. And then there's David, who loves both women...

The situation has a whole mass of possibilities and O'Flanagan is astute enough to make the most of them all. All the characters are drawn with richness and sympathy, and this is her most beguiling book yet. --Barry Forshaw

U Magazine
‘A rattling good read'

Review
'Highly readable' (Express )

‘A fabulous first novel and a thoroughly enjoyable read’ (RTE Guide )

‘An insight into modern-style marriage... a rollercoaster ride through lives of affluence and destruction’ (Irish Times )

‘A rattling good read’ (U Magazine )

'Well written, down to earth and honest' (Woman's Way )

'The appeal of Sheila's books is obvious; they have a romantic, feel-good factor, they're funny and she doesn't shy away from dealing with troublesome emotional issues' (Far From Over) (Irish Post )

'Well written and very readable...a refreshing change from the usual stable of women's contemporary fiction' (Publishing News )

Customer Reviews

A great read
I am a great Fan of Sheila O'Flanagan and I was not disappointed with this book. Once I started to read this book I was unable to put it down and so I finished it with 24 hours! This book follows the life of the ex-wife, Gemma, the ex-husband, David and the new youger wife, Orla, and of course not forgetting the teenage daughter and the younger son. After Gemma's husband remarries Gemma starts to re-visit her memories of her marriage and begins to wonder whether she did the right thing divorcing David.

I thought that this book was brillient and realistic. As a divorcee I could really relate to this book and Gemma in particular. And like Gemma, I too have found a similar happy ending. This is a great book that I would highly recommend to anyone.

What an annoying book!
I wanted to shake these 2 women and tell them to get a life!! the ex-wife and the new wife crying over a man who hadn't the personality of a doorknob! i know its supposed to be a story from the women's point of view but at least sheila o' flanaghan could have elaborated on what made this guy so special...i ended up disliking the women for their pathetic lost puppy "can't live without a men" attitudes.

pacy interesting poignant
I loved the difficulties both women faced with the one man and how they dealt with them - being a second wife isn't always easy! And the relationship between the women and the children was really well done (Maeve Binchy but more uptodate). An easy read, but a compelling one.