Sunflowers Never Sleep

Jere D. Turner is Adult Collections Co-ordinator at the Regina Public
Library in Saskatchewan.

Dave Reynolds, a middle-aged former thief and now a successful small
businessman, finds his life becoming unsettled and dangerous as he copes
with his brother Tom’s problems and with a disturbing new force in his
life, one Dawn Anderson. Tom, a well-educated failure, has become the
victim of loan sharks, and is depending on Dave to bail him out. To do
this, Dave finds he must renew old acquaintances in a world he thought
he had left behind. Dawn complicates Dave’s life in a more disturbing
way: she evokes feelings Dave has never experienced before. While he can
deal with Tom’s problems by calling on his previous experience with
people who operate outside the law, Dawn introduces him to the totally
alien power of unconditional love.

The story, set in Winnipeg, is a gritty and realistic look at the
unsavory world of loan sharks, thieves, and slightly corrupt
politicians. The novel reads quickly, with only minor problems (for
example, Dave and Dawn’s meeting seems a bit contrived). The story
holds the reader’s attention and ends in a very realistic manner,
which is refreshing in this genre where many works have a pat,
unrealistic conclusion. Recommended as an example of good writing about
a world most of us will never experience.