25 Our Private Mythologies

Every one of us retains in his memory powerful images from childhood. Happenings and experiences that received mythological dimensions in private history and it is almost impossible to explain them to other people because what can be said about them is only an external and objective description, whereas their real strength lies in a much deeper layer. This is also true of certain books that we read in our childhood when the reading experience was new and therefore powerful and intense. Many of us remember only dimly the books from those years and usually refrain from reading them again as adults because we fear that the magic will not repeat itself and perhaps the opposite will happen: looked at as an adult, the books might seem tasteless and there would be no way to balance today's sober view with yesterday's mythology that we can not erase, and remains present even when denying it.

The book "Satan from the 7th grade" by Kornel Makuszyński, in its old translation from Polish, was one of those reading experiences for me. A few years ago I came across a new translation of the book by Uri Orlev and I immediately bought the book. Of course I didn't read it. However I was recently requested to evaluate (in my capacity as a lector) a biography of a famous Israeli personality that was written for young readers and its didactic childish style without faith in its readers, made me uncomfortable. Suspecting that I was perhaps judging the book too severely, I wanted to compare it to another book that I like and remembered "Satan from the 7th grade". I picked it up and – believe it or not – the magic returned. I became engrossed in the book and didn't put it down until I had turned the last page. That is the way to write for young readers. And actually, why only for young readers? That is the way to write – with wisdom, humor and love of humanity. Here is the book lying on my desk.