“The Golem” a version by Barbara Rogasky ill. by Trina Schart Hyman
I saw The Golem years ago, but passed by it because of its imposing cover, even though it was by one of my favorite artists, Trina Schart Hyman. But the concluding essay in Michael Chabon’s Maps and Legends, “Golems I Have Known,” reminded me of it, so I sought it out.
This is definitely a book for older children, not only in length; it’s 94 pages, divided into chapters, each one an individual story. But it’s quite dark and sad, dealing with themes of the extreme prejudice of Jews that prefigured the Holocaust. In Rogasky’s version, Rabbi Judah Loew creates a man of clay, the Golem, whom he names Joseph. Joseph is a protector of the Jews of sixteenth-century Prague. Each tale shows Joseph’s strengths and limitations, and how the relationship between him and the rabbi develops.
The introduction to one of the chapters does a good job of describing the book:
The story here is one of blood and murder. Hatred is its root. In hatred there is evil, and in evil there is madness. That is the lesson, if there is one. And that is why the story will be told.
Hyman’s illustrations are detailed, beautiful, and appropriate to the complex subject matter. This is good stuff for older children, but too scary for young ones.