As a novel of contemporary life,Has Has Anyone Seen Heather?

Anyone Seen Heather? alludes to or deals with many contemporary problems. Experience in London awakens the sisters to some of the more brutal facts of life, such as discrimination of various kinds. The Irish in London tend to be looked down upon, and youngsters particularly. Sexism, grossly revealed in the jobs they get, at one point sets Clare off against her wellintentioned Dublin friend Wally, when he tries to pay for a meal they have together in London on Katie's birthday.

Most startling of all (besides the attempted rape they witness) is the time when Liz, the barmaid at the William Shakespeare, tells Clare that she is pregnant and needs to have an abortion. Although educated by nuns, Clare is not "RC" (Roman Catholic) but "DA," meaning (she says) "Definite Agnostic." Nevertheless, the problem of...