Speers contemplates the meaning of what is truly valuable in life in his taut latest. For Leonard Defoe, drug dealing is all about easy money. But when his girlfriend Ronni asks him to choose between his seedy ways and her, Len is ready to start afresh. But he needs to score big for one last time. As he sets on to deliver drugs one last time, a police chase sends him to hospital. And it will be decades before Len wakes up. In a clear, crisp prose, Speers weaves a tight tale of friendship, relationships, and loneliness. He shines a light on the difficult lives of people suffering from PTSD, mental and physical disabilities, Alzheimer’s, as well as on the various ways the patients and their loved ones try to cope. Along the way, he explores the questions of faith, friendship, fate, and family with empathy and wisdom. Speers’s gift for making all his characters, from major to minor, credible brings them to life. In Len, who is caring and dependent, endlessly self-sacrificing, and finds it hard to say no, Speers has created an unforgettable protagonist. His take on other characters is equally effective. It’s a gripping story, one that leaves readers wondering if a life devoted to giving solely but without any real connection is worth it or not.
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Categories: Fiction
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