Fallen Angels

From the outside most of us have caught brief but shocking glimpses of the street children of South America. In this collection of short stories Robin Lloyd-Jones shows us, vividly and authentically, the view from the inside looking out. We feel what it is like to be only ten years old and yet to prefer life on the street to the miseries of violence, abuse and poverty in the home.Exploited by the police, the drug pushers, the makers of 'snuff movies' and the dealers in human spare parts, tidied away when they might be a political embarrassment, these children have learnt to survive, like the stray dogs on the garbage dump, by obeying the law of the pack.'Reality is a dangerous substance,' says a character as he offers a joint to ten-year-old Angel. 'It should be taken only in small doses by the young.' What Robin Lloyd-Jones offers us is undoubtedly a very strong and disturbing dose of reality, one which cannot fail to touch the humanity of his readers.What reviewers thought of the book:This is an extremely interesting collection of horrifying stories about Los Gamines, the destitute and homeless children who roam and sleep in the streets of a great South American city ... The stories in Fallen Angels are terse and economical and well-written. A lot of would-be short story writers could study them to their advantage. (Fred Urquhart, Scottish Book Collector).The importance and horror of these stories transcend art; quite simply, they question whether humanity has any right to enjoy this planet at all, if the price for that enjoyment is the staggering amount of human suffering and death Lloyd-Jones describes .... His commitment and empathy shows.... The stories are well-paced, well-patterned, too: cutting from child view to adult, from character to character, yet interweaving a black tapestry.(Douglas Gifford, Scottish Books).&quote;If you want to know what poverty and injustice are really like only fiction can give you the truth,&quote; says Robin Lloyd-Jones. In Fallen Angels he proves this with unsurpassed mastery.... A compassionate, deeply moving rendition of some disturbing tales based upon reality. (Dr Maryanne Traylen, Resurgence Magazine).