Share
'I'm a hero. It's easy to be a hero. If you don't have hands or feet, you're either a hero or dead.' So begins Ruben Gallego's shocking account of his bleak life in the Soviet Union's network of hidden orphanages. Ruben was born in Moscow in 1968 with severe cerebral palsy. His grandfather, the head of Spain's Communist Party, found his disability unbearable and banished him to a state orphanage, telling Ruben's mother that her son had died. Communist Russia's much vaunted welfare system claimed to leave no citizen behind. But as Ruben moved from home to home he lived the sinister reality behind the myth. He faced freezing dormitories, rotten food, the cruelty of carers, and the belief that his mother had abandoned him. Above all he suffered severe neglect, as a 'non-ambulant' in homes which often lacked one single wheelchair, and in which people were left lying, and dying, in their own filth. But Ruben was tenacious. With his disability, survival was already a way of life. And the occasional kindnesses shown him - a fig, chocolate, a conversation - fed his passion for freedom. From within he finds the strength to escape his fate, marry, become a parent and, eventually, track down and reunite with his mother.
*Good condition, yellowed pages*
| Author | Ruben Gallego |
|---|---|
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Place | London |
| Year | 2006 |
| ISBN | 9780719561368 |
| Binding | Hardcover |
| Condition | Good |
| Dustjacket Condition | Good |
| Comments | Yellowed pages |
How we describe the condition of our books
We are very proud of the condition of the books we sell (please read our testimonials to find out more!)
New: Exactly as it says.
As New: Pretty much new but shows small signs of having been read; inside it will be clean without any inscriptions or stamps; might contain a remainder mark.
Very Good: Might have some creases on the spine; no hard cracks; maybe slight forward lean and short inscription inside; perhaps very minor bumping on the corners of the book; inside clean but the page edges might be slightly yellowed.
Good: A few creases on the spine, perhaps a forward lean, bumping on corners or shelfwear; maybe an inscription inside or some shelfwear or a small tear or two on the dustjacket; inside clean but page edges might be somewhat yellowed.
Fair: In overall good condition, might have a severe forward lean to the spine, an inscription, bumping to corners; one or two folds on the covers and yellowed pages; in exceptional cases these books might contain some library stamps and stickers or have neat sticky tape which was used to fix a short, closed tear.
Poor: We rarely sell poor condition books, unless the books are in demand and difficult to find in a better condition. Poor condition books are still perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact and none threatening to fall out; most probably a reading copy only.