CHILDREN OF THE SHADOW

by Morris L. West ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

.....are to be found, scavenging, in the shadows of the slums of Naples- where they live in filth and misery, fifteen in a room and nine in a bed, to go out on the streets at an early age to engage in the commerce of sex and contraband. This is their life - it is also a ""litany of the miseries of Naples""- and again an impassioned, indignant protest and plea for help. Morris West, a writer, who lived among them, tells the story of these ""scugnizzi"", of Borelli; the priest who was one of them and then became their Pied Piper and founded The House of the Urchins to offer them a roof over their heads. Over and above the particular incidents here which West witnessed and shared, he singles out the many causes for conditions such as this:- in the age old pattern where the birth rate is high but the value of life is low; in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and of power in the Church which attempts no reforms; in the social and commercial life of a country which is ""one gigantic skin game""; in the lack of schooling, nursing, relief-- so that these ""children of the shadow"" reflect a far greater area of injustice and indifference. Perhaps, only perhaps, this book will help to awaken and arouse others.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION