An Orphanage Boy is told through the eyes of young Ryszard, of his confusions and trials of life in various institutions: naive, innocent and totally overwhelmed by the indifference and corruption of a system that he neither understands or fits in to.
At birth, Ryszard Szablicki was placed in an orphanage in Melbourne by his mother, who refused to give him up for adoption, despite being strongly advised that this was in the child’s best interests.
The young narrator is consigned to the oblivion of these institutions until, at the age of ten and a half, his parents, without explanation, collect him and bring into the family.
An Orphanage Boy is a beautifully told story; a tender, yet heart-wrenching window into a world we seldom see. It is a window that Ryszard throws wide open to let the light in.
