The Paul Street Boys
The Paul Street Boys () is a youth novel by the Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnár, first published in 1906. Plot outline. The novel is about schoolboys in Józsefváros neighbourhood of Budapest and set in 1889. The Paul Street Boys spend their free time at the "grund", an empty lot that they regard as their "Fatherland". The story has two main protagonists, János Boka (the honourable leader of the Paul Street Boys) and Ernő Nemecsek (the smallest member of the group). When the "Redshirts"—another gang of boys, led by Feri Áts, who gather at the nearby botanical gardens —attempt to take over the "grund", the Paul Street Boys are forced to defend themselves in military fashion. Although the Paul Street Boys win the war, and little Nemecsek repeatedly demonstrates that his bravery and loyalty surpasses his size, the book ends in tragedy: Nemecsek dies of pneumonia. Literary significance and criticism. Very popular in Hungary, it is considered as a classic book, and it is also one of the most famous Hungarian novels outside the country. It has been translated into many languages, and in several countries, it is a mandatory or recommended reading in schools. The first English  translation was made by Louis Rittenberg and published in 1927, and later revised by George Szirtes for a re-release in 1994. Erich Kästner took up the theme of two groups of boys conducting a "war" and using all the terminology of militarism and nationalism in "The Flying Classroom", published just before the Nazi Party won elections in Germany. Kästner was, however, less harsh with the character resembling Nemecsek, who in Kästner's version suffers no more than a broken leg. In Israel, the book is considered a classic youth novel. A Hebrew version titled "Mahanaim" (Camps — also referencing a  popular ball game) was published in 1940 and was popular for many years, with multiple reprints. A newer translation titled "The Boys from Paul Street" was published in 1984. A stage adaptation of the book by the Kibbutz theater started performing in 2016. In Azerbaijan, the book became popular after Ramil Safarov translated it into the Azerbaijani language during his sentence in Budapest. In Mongolia, the book was published in April 2020 and the Translation team (to Mongolian) was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit by the decree of the President of Hungary on September 21, 2021. See also. Other  European books depicting "war" between rival groups of boys Brazilian Band IRA! made reference to this novel in their song "Rua Paulo" from their album entitled "Meninos da Rua Paulo"