The Paul Street Boys

It was my very first book when I was 7. It is a shame that this classic for children literature is not available in a decent English translation. This story seems not very popular in the US or in other English speaking countries and it is a pity, while it is more popular in Europe where it is a classic for children. This story was written before WWI and showcases honor and an anti-war bottom line. The Boys of Pal Street depicts the life and struggle of two bands of boys for a playground. (The story of two gangs fighting for their turf today looks like so similar to many others in real streets in real cities of the eighties. However, children's ingenuity is the defining factor in this story). At the beginning of the 20th century, Budapest is rapidly changing is face and the construction of new buildings is proceeding quickly. With shrinking spaces for play, a group of schoolboys has to defend its space on the last free lot in their neighborhood from a rival group, the Red Shirts. There is no alternative playground and this lot is theirs and the Pal Street boys must defend it if they want keep on playing. Nemecsek is the youngest and the smallest boy of the Pal Street Boys and as such he plays the role of the mascot, a role too tiny for him. He is determined to show to the older guys that he is a real "member" and will prove himself. The Red Shirts is a well organized band and Nemecsek goes on his own to spy on the Red Shirts headquarters to gather information for his "comrades". He is caught and thrown into a cold lake and gets a severe cold and fever. His health worsens while his friends are ready for their frontal against the Red Shirts. On the day X, despite his bad health (no penicillin at that time!) Nemecsek cannot leave his older comrades alone while he is resting in bed, then he leaves home to join his friends. The Pal Street boys eventually prevail, but Nemecsek's conditions worsen even further and his friends have to take him home, where Nemecsek will die the very same day. Nemecsek will die for nothing since few days later the construction of new buildings in their camp begins. Double sad ending. Highly recommended for all, if you can find a copy.

I don't know, how good is the English translation, but the story and characters are so good I hope more English readers discover it! It reminds me of C.S. Lewis' writing in this respect, that it speaks deeply to both young and old. You can read and re-read it and it grows as you grow. The story is timeless and its turn-of-the century Budapest setting doesn't make the book dated or hard to relate to. The real setting is in the hearts and minds of children on the brink of adulthood.For those who are learning the Hungarian language at an intermediate level the original text of this book makes for great reading -- fantastic story and the vocabulary and style are not at all complicated.

The Paul Street Boys is a wonderful tale of bravery, heroism, patriotism, honour, truth, love, war and passion. It contains all these in the microcosm of two groups of teenage boys living in Budapest who are about to fight for a small open space amidst the busy streets of the big city where they can play ball. But that's just the basic plot. The characters, Boka, Feri Acz and Nemeczek especially, are incredible children. They, when I read the book as a child, were a symbol to me of what boys were supposed to be like. Not because they fought. Not because they had fun on their playground. Not because they had secret societies. Because they knew the important things in life: love, honour, home. The story is funny and sad, light and tragic all in one, and more importantly, it teaches a lesson without beating you over the head with it. I learned the lesson when I first read it when I was just a boy, but when I read it now that I am all grown up, it still makes me weep. Why? Because it is about growing up and learning to live and learning that life is about winning and losing and sometimes both at the same time. And at the end of the novel in our souls, just like in Boka's, "for the first time there begins to dawn an understanding of the great mystery of life in which sorrow is so strangely intertwined with joy."