Johnny Dyer’s Reviews > A Fine Balance > Status Update

Then a boy emerged out of the earth, clinging to the end of the rope. He was covered in the slippery sewer sludge, and when he stood up, he shone and shimmered in the sun with a terrible beauty. His hair, stiffened by the muck, flared from his head like a crown of black flames.
Behind him, the slum smoke curled towards the sky, and the hellishness of the place was complete.