Street Children: The Tragedy and Challenge of the World's Millions of Modern-Day Oliver Twists, by Andy Butcher is an easy read, difficult to swallow book. The title discloses the nature of the book and its difficult subject matter plainly.
Butcher uses Dickens's, Oliver Twist, to draw out stories of street children. Many of the stories are gut-wrenching. He also infuses chapters of the heroes working to eradicate the growing problem of street children.
The book begins with individual stories coupled with the systemic issues surrounding the lives of these individuals. These representative stories narrate the bigger picture. As the book passes its midway point, Butcher resorts just to the narrative, weakening the book considerably. It loses its punch in the end, and gets to an almost sappy point of Christian inspiration.
Nonetheless, Butcher's work is a worthwhile read. Knowing how it is to end ought not to be a detraction from this book, but rather the reason to read it. Not knowing of the inspirational chapters in the end caused me to expect a more sociological completion to the book. When meeting these stories, I was hoping and waiting for the part of how the system was conquered, or what could be done. My reaction is indicative of the problem. Stories are all there is. There is little accomplishment over the systemic problems. As such, I was struck by difficulty of the task and upon reflection took courage that it really is God that will make a difference in changing the lives of the children and the system.
This book gets a one thumb up and one sideways. It is not a keeper, as little research can be drawn from the book, however proceeds from its purchase goes to organizations assisting in street children, so I still recommend making the purchase. Then donate it to a local library - public, church or school.
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