The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Bruno Schulz
- ISBN：0143105140
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Summary
The collected fiction of "one of the most original imaginations in modern Europe" （Cynthia Ozick）
Bruno Schulz's untimely death at the hands of a Nazi stands as one of the great losses to modern literature。 During his lifetime， his work found little critical regard， but word of his remarkable talents gradually won him an international readership。 This volume brings together his complete fiction， including three short stories and his final surviving work， Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass。 Illustrated with Schulz's original drawings， this edition beautifully showcases the distinctive surrealist vision of one of the twentieth century's most gifted and influential writers。
Bruno Schulz's untimely death at the hands of a Nazi stands as one of the great losses to modern literature。 During his lifetime， his work found little critical regard， but word of his remarkable talents gradually won him an international readership。 This volume brings together his complete fiction， including three short stories and his final surviving work， Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass。 Illustrated with Schulz's original drawings， this edition beautifully showcases the distinctive surrealist vision of one of the twentieth century's most gifted and influential writers。
Reviews
Jan Lewandowski
，
Jedynie dwa opowiadania: Sierpień i Sklepy Cynamonowe。 Całkiem spoko ino się skupić cza
Lori
，
This is an extraordinary work by a truly amazing writer。 Bruno Schulz lived in Poland until he was killed by the Nazis （there are two different stories of how he died， one more 'romantic' than the other; no matter， he ended up with others in an unmarked grave）。 He published two major and amazing works， Cinnamon Shops also known as Street of Crocodiles， and The Sanitorium Under the Hourglass。This is some of the most exuberant and unique prose you'll ever encounter。 It's magical surrealism， unteth This is an extraordinary work by a truly amazing writer。 Bruno Schulz lived in Poland until he was killed by the Nazis （there are two different stories of how he died， one more 'romantic' than the other; no matter， he ended up with others in an unmarked grave）。 He published two major and amazing works， Cinnamon Shops also known as Street of Crocodiles， and The Sanitorium Under the Hourglass。This is some of the most exuberant and unique prose you'll ever encounter。 It's magical surrealism， untethered， buoyant。 It's so unique I struggled with it for the first 94 pages feeling like I was missing something until aha！ it came together for me。 That is my brain on Schulz; your mileage will vary and you'll likely fall right into the book and not want to come out again。 Once I realized what， how much Schulz did here I started again on the first page and took one of the most remarkable literary journeys of my life。There are two translations。 I learned that my GR friend Matthew Appleton， who recommended this book to me （can never thank you enough！） and all of the others whose reviews I savored read a different translation than I did。 Mine， by Madeline Levine， is from 2018 and done in cooperation with Polish scholars and the few background materials that exist on Schulz。 I won't go into it here but each has its beauty and assets。 Levine's being newer and focused more on Schulz's literary techniques including alliteration is said to be definitive。 From what I've read each is a win for different reasons and I would very much like to read the other sometime。The edition I have includes the only other two stories that survive。 There is talk he gave his work to someone and to this day there is someone searching but it's likely lost to posterity。 In any case the two other stories seem like practice for two in the main works and are not as beautifully written。 The other editions are illustrated because he was a visual artist as well。 This one isn't。 At first I didn't even know he illustrated the work and did quite a bit more drawing， murals -- the writing is so remarkably visual， descriptive， ebullient。 Everything in Cinnamon Shops and The Sanitorium Under the Hourglass everything is animate: pots and pans fly out of attics in the town and then the attics fly too。 The lush fabrics in the father's store move in descriptions that have me resisting superlatives but really， this is so special。 The father turns into a cockroach （Schulz translated Kafka into Polish）， a crab， a stuffed condor; he is dead， alive， in-between。 Birds take up residence in the apartment and take flight， the prose takes flight。 There are themes and echoes， some of it seems so free of literary constraint but he was always completely in control。 It's word-perfect。 It's profound。 I'm in awe of his work。He must speak for himself now （through Madeline Levine）。 Some of it is so beautiful I cried。 In this passage the protagonist is looking through his friend's stamp album。 It's all he， or Schulz， would see of these places and it is so very -- so so very:from Spring， part of The Sanitorium Under the Hourglass:"In May， there were days that were pink like Egypt。 In the market square radiance poured out， rippling， from every border。 In the sky， the pile of summer clouds knelt， all fleecy， beneath fissures of radiance， volcanic， vividly outlined， and—Barbados， Labrador， Trinidad—everything passed into red as if seen through ruby-colored spectacles， and through those two， three pulses， through growing darkness， through the red eclipse of blood pounding against the head， the great corvette of Guyana sailed across the entire sky， exploding with all its sails。 Bulging， it glided along， its canvas snorting， towed cumbersomely amid its extended lines and the clamor of the towboats， through commotions of seagulls and the red radiance of the sea。 Then the immense， jumbled rigging of ropes， ladders， and poles rose up to the entire sky and expanded immensely in breadth and， booming on high with its unfurled canvas the manifold， many-storied aerial spectacle of sails， yards and clew lines opened out， while in the hatches small， agile Negro boys appeared for a moment and then scattered in that canvas labyrinth， disappearing among the signs and figures of the fantastic sky of the tropics。"Then the scene changes， and in the sky， in the massifs of clouds， as many as three pink eclipses were coming to a climax at the same time， glowing lava was smoking， outlining with a luminous line the threatening contours of the clouds， and—Cuba， Haiti， Jamaica—the core of the world was moving into the depths， growing more and more vividly， making its way to the heart， and suddenly the pure essence of these days poured out: the murmuring oceanicity of the tropics， of archipelagic azures， of happy brooks and whirlpools， and equatorial salty monsoons。 With the stamp album in my hand I read the spring。 Was it not a great commentary of the times， a grammar book of its days and nights？ That spring declined through all the Colombias， Costa Ricas， and Venezuelas， for what， in essence， are Mexico and Ecuador and Sierra Leone if not some kind of ingenious nostrum， some intensification of the taste of the world， some extreme， refined finality， a blind alley of aroma into which the world rushes in its quests， testing and practicing on every keyboard？ The main thing， let us not forget—like Alexander the Great—is that no Mexico is the ultimate one， that it is a transitional point that the world passes by， that beyond every Mexico a new Mexico opens up， even more vivid， hypercolorful， and hyperaromatic。" 。。。more
Anna Polstiankina
，
На жаль， знайомство не склалось。 Стиль автора неймовірно красивий， нарисовий。 Але персонажі для мене так і не ожили， і бракувало певної сюжетної лінії， що не дозволило сповна насолодитись майстерністю володіння словом。 Можливо колись повернусь， щоб поміняти свою думку。
Zac Hawkins
，
Under the Sign of the Hourglass isn't quite as superb as The Street of Crocodiles， that is to say it isn't the greatest example of surrealist fantasy out there， but as a whole the complete fiction of Schulz is one of the finest bodies of work by any author ever。Simply sublime。 Under the Sign of the Hourglass isn't quite as superb as The Street of Crocodiles， that is to say it isn't the greatest example of surrealist fantasy out there， but as a whole the complete fiction of Schulz is one of the finest bodies of work by any author ever。Simply sublime。 。。。more
Bradley Clacy
，
Boring mood pieces。 I’d skip this and watch the Quay Brothers’ excellent adaptation of Street of Crocodiles instead。 Also， I technically didn't read all of this， but I read half， which was more than enough。 I'm planning to move overseas in a couple of years so I need to read as many of my books as possible before then in order to make the task of culling and deciding what to keep that much easier， so I really don't have the time to waste on a book that bores me as much as this one did。 Boring mood pieces。 I’d skip this and watch the Quay Brothers’ excellent adaptation of Street of Crocodiles instead。 Also， I technically didn't read all of this， but I read half， which was more than enough。 I'm planning to move overseas in a couple of years so I need to read as many of my books as possible before then in order to make the task of culling and deciding what to keep that much easier， so I really don't have the time to waste on a book that bores me as much as this one did。 。。。more
Ben
，
Uniquely vivid and curious stories。
Cheryl Sarnoski
，
I found this book unwieldy。 The metaphors， the visions were beautiful， but so big， so superfluous。 Giant words that just dropped in there， kerplunk， kerplunk that just choked the flow。 I had an impossible time finding the story， impossible time sinking into it。 Every page I read begrudgingly， wondering where was the meat。 I wanted to love this。 I kept coming to every story hopeful just to feel let down。 Maybe it was me， maybe it was this translation。
Xantha Page
，
"Every day at the same time， accompanied by her governess， Bianca could be seen walking in the park。 What can I say about Bianca， how can I describe her？ I only know that she is marvelously true to herself， that she fulfills her programme completely。 My heart tight with pleasure， I notice again and again how with every step， light as a dancer， she enters into her being and how with each of her movements she unconsciously hits the target。"Her walk is ordinary， without excessive grace， but its sim "Every day at the same time， accompanied by her governess， Bianca could be seen walking in the park。 What can I say about Bianca， how can I describe her？ I only know that she is marvelously true to herself， that she fulfills her programme completely。 My heart tight with pleasure， I notice again and again how with every step， light as a dancer， she enters into her being and how with each of her movements she unconsciously hits the target。"Her walk is ordinary， without excessive grace， but its simplicity is touching， and my heart fills with gladness that Bianca can be herself so simply， without any strain or artifice。"Once she slowly lifted her eyes to me， and the seriousness of that look pierced me like an arrow。 Since then， I have known that I can hide nothing from her， that she knows all my thoughts。 At that moment， I put myself at her disposal， completely and without reservation。 She accepted this by almost imperceptibly closing her eyes。 It happened without a word， in passing， in one single look。"When I want to imagine her， I can only evoke one meaningless detail: the chapped skin on her knees， like a boy's; this is deeply touching and guides my thoughts into tantalizing regions of contradiction， into blissful antinomies。 Everything else， above and below her knees， is transcendental and defies my imagination。" 。。。more
Bogdan Kudriashov
，
Хотів познайомитися з польською літературою。 Обрав Шульца， так як чув багато про "крамниці"。 Однак витвір розчарував。 Таке враження， що в сужетних лінях намагалися намудрити не для сюжету， а просто， щоб твір був цілеспрямовано більш розмитим і не зрозумілим。Загалом， з такого， краще рекомендую почитати Кафку。 Єдина прочитана за 20-й рік книга， яку не можу рекомендувати。 Хотів познайомитися з польською літературою。 Обрав Шульца， так як чув багато про "крамниці"。 Однак витвір розчарував。 Таке враження， що в сужетних лінях намагалися намудрити не для сюжету， а просто， щоб твір був цілеспрямовано більш розмитим і не зрозумілим。Загалом， з такого， краще рекомендую почитати Кафку。 Єдина прочитана за 20-й рік книга， яку не можу рекомендувати。 。。。more
Gerd Waliszewski
，
masterpiece
Filip
，
Nie moja bajka。
Bleu
，
clear magic
Emilia
，
Mistrz metafor。
Gabrysia [ poprzezstrony ]
，
[ Sierpień， Nawiedzenie， Ptaki， Pan， Sklepy Cynamonowe， Ulica Krokodyli ]
Joyce
，
this was a lot harder going than i expected， its taken me about 10 hours to read its 270 pages， it's rich like a dense chocolate cake， probably best taken in slowly in pieces rather than all at once。 i can feel my head spinning and contracting and don't feel like reading anything else just yet。 this was a lot harder going than i expected， its taken me about 10 hours to read its 270 pages， it's rich like a dense chocolate cake， probably best taken in slowly in pieces rather than all at once。 i can feel my head spinning and contracting and don't feel like reading anything else just yet。 。。。more
Joseph Spuckler
，
Collected Stories by Bruno Schulz is a collection of short stories comprised of two published works and additional uncollected stories。 Schulz was a Polish Jewish writer， fine artist， literary critic and art teacher。 He is regarded as one of the great Polish-language prose stylists of the 20th century。 In 1938， he was awarded the Polish Academy of Literature's prestigious Golden Laurel award。There are two things that make this collection great。 The first is the writing style。 Schulz is perhaps t Collected Stories by Bruno Schulz is a collection of short stories comprised of two published works and additional uncollected stories。 Schulz was a Polish Jewish writer， fine artist， literary critic and art teacher。 He is regarded as one of the great Polish-language prose stylists of the 20th century。 In 1938， he was awarded the Polish Academy of Literature's prestigious Golden Laurel award。There are two things that make this collection great。 The first is the writing style。 Schulz is perhaps the only readily known Polish modernist in the West。 It takes only a short time before the reader is drawn into the minds of the characters。 The settings gain importance over the concept of plot and are rich in imagery。 The imagery is not only found in the great things but also in the mundane like fish in aspic。 The characters get the same treatment:What remained of him was a small amount of corporeal casing and thathandful of senseless eccentricities—they could disappear one day， as unnoticedas the gray pile of trash collecting in a corner that Adela carried outevery day to the garbage bin。The second thing that makes this collection significant is the translation work by Madeline G。 Levine。 Levine is Kenan Professor of Slavic Literatures Emerita at the University of North Carolina， Chapel Hill。 Her translations from Polish include The Woman from Hamburg and Other True Stories by Hanna Krall， Bread for the Departed by Bogdan Wojdowski， and four volumes of prose by Czesław Miłosz。 The introduction documents the checking and rechecking by another party of the translation。 The goal is to capture the essence and accuracy of the original language。 The proper use of translation， even if sometimes unwieldy in English or using words that are not in common use， like hill-lock hump， adds depth and accuracy to reading and concentrates the reader's effort and attention。Collected Stories offers the reader a look inside of Polish fiction of the modernist period。 There are many similarities in the writing to Woolf's later poetic prose。 Stream of consciousness plays out through the stories。 As many of the stories take place in the past， the effects of memory play an important role in the storytelling much like in Proust。 Talking to an acquaintance who was born and raised in Poland， Schulz is wonderful and read by most in high school。 After reading this collection， I would definitely agree with the wonderful。 。。。more
Lisa Houlihan
，
I read only the title story。 It was evocative of Kafka， either because both authors were from Eastern Europe and shared a literary period or because I see patterns where none exist （Kafka was 10 years older and died in 1924 and Czechoslovakia is not Poland）。 I first heard of this author in Nicole Krauss's History of Love。 I read only the title story。 It was evocative of Kafka， either because both authors were from Eastern Europe and shared a literary period or because I see patterns where none exist （Kafka was 10 years older and died in 1924 and Czechoslovakia is not Poland）。 I first heard of this author in Nicole Krauss's History of Love。 。。。more
Nick
，
I read "The Street of Crocodiles" several years ago and loved it。 I just couldn't get in to the "Other Stories" unfortunately。 They are like half-baked fever dreams mixed with nostalgic memories that are being colorfully related by a schizophrenic stranger， but not as enjoyable as that might sound。 I read "The Street of Crocodiles" several years ago and loved it。 I just couldn't get in to the "Other Stories" unfortunately。 They are like half-baked fever dreams mixed with nostalgic memories that are being colorfully related by a schizophrenic stranger， but not as enjoyable as that might sound。 。。。more
Laura
，
A slow read for me but valuable nonetheless。 It was like walking through someone else's dreams （and nightmares）， trying to get your bearings in a world where the images and vocabulary were sometimes not your own。 There was also always a touch of madness howling beneath the surfaces of the stories， as well as a sense of longing， loss and loneliness， which made me have to put the book down and return to the "real" world to gain stability， composure， and the comfort of the ordinary。 A slow read for me but valuable nonetheless。 It was like walking through someone else's dreams （and nightmares）， trying to get your bearings in a world where the images and vocabulary were sometimes not your own。 There was also always a touch of madness howling beneath the surfaces of the stories， as well as a sense of longing， loss and loneliness， which made me have to put the book down and return to the "real" world to gain stability， composure， and the comfort of the ordinary。 。。。more
Perry
，
I read the Street of Crocodiles section of the book back in May， and have just now finished The Hourglass Sanatorium。 Both books work phenomenally on their own， but when taken together as one body of work， they're untouchable。 My favorite story has to be The Street of Crocodiles' Tailor's Dummies， or The Second Book of Genesis。 I read the Street of Crocodiles section of the book back in May， and have just now finished The Hourglass Sanatorium。 Both books work phenomenally on their own， but when taken together as one body of work， they're untouchable。 My favorite story has to be The Street of Crocodiles' Tailor's Dummies， or The Second Book of Genesis。 。。。more
Radu Popovici
，
4，5*
Stephen
，
Amazing stuff。 I know the conventions that would nudge me along to say more in a review like this， but nah。 Just read Schulz for yourself if you haven't。 This translation has advantages and disadvantages relative to the previous English version （more fluid sentences on the one hand， more strange cognate sort-of English words on the other）。 Amazing stuff。 I know the conventions that would nudge me along to say more in a review like this， but nah。 Just read Schulz for yourself if you haven't。 This translation has advantages and disadvantages relative to the previous English version （more fluid sentences on the one hand， more strange cognate sort-of English words on the other）。 。。。more
Juha
，
Olin lukenut nuorena aiemmin ilmestyneen puolet laihemman kokoelman Schulzin surrealistisia （？） tarinoita （Krokotiilikuja） ja muistoissani se oli yksi suosikkejani。 Siihen nähden tämän kattavan kokoelman läpimeno oli paikoin yllättävän raskasta。 Hienot tarinat erottuivat ja ne olivat juuri niitä， jotka oli koottu vanhempaan kokoelmaan。 Uutta kokoelmaa puolustaa se， että se on suomennettu suoraan puolasta ja sisältää mainiot alku- ja lopputekstit。
michal k-c
，
not much to say about this that hasn't already been said in far more eloquent ways， so I'll just say that Schulz was a master of exformation， maybe even on the same level as Kafka。 not much to say about this that hasn't already been said in far more eloquent ways， so I'll just say that Schulz was a master of exformation， maybe even on the same level as Kafka。 。。。more
Konstantinos
，
" Όποιος καταδιώκεται από λύκους ή ληστές και τα καταφέρνει να φτάσει στις πύλες αυτού του οχυρού έχει σωθεί。 Τον οδηγούν μέσα θριαμβευτικά， του βγάζουν τα σκονισμένα ρούχα。 Πανηγυρικά， ευτυχισμένα και χαρούμενα， μπαίνει στην αύρα των Ηλυσίων Πεδίων， στην ρόδινη γλυκά του αέρα。 Αφήνει μακριά του τις πόλεις και τις έγνοιες τους， την καθημερινότητα και τον πυρετό της。 Περνάει σε μία νέα， εορταστική， αστραφτερή κανονικότητα， πετάει πέρα το σώμα του σαν κέλυφος， ρίχνει μακριά την μάσκα της γκριμάτσα " Όποιος καταδιώκεται από λύκους ή ληστές και τα καταφέρνει να φτάσει στις πύλες αυτού του οχυρού έχει σωθεί。 Τον οδηγούν μέσα θριαμβευτικά， του βγάζουν τα σκονισμένα ρούχα。 Πανηγυρικά， ευτυχισμένα και χαρούμενα， μπαίνει στην αύρα των Ηλυσίων Πεδίων， στην ρόδινη γλυκά του αέρα。 Αφήνει μακριά του τις πόλεις και τις έγνοιες τους， την καθημερινότητα και τον πυρετό της。 Περνάει σε μία νέα， εορταστική， αστραφτερή κανονικότητα， πετάει πέρα το σώμα του σαν κέλυφος， ρίχνει μακριά την μάσκα της γκριμάτσας που είχε κολλήσει στο πρόσωπο του， εγκαταλείπει το κουκούλι του και απελευθερώνεται。 "- Η Δημοκρατία των Ονείρων， Μπρούνο Σουλτς。（Σίγουρα το καλύτερο βιβλίο που έχω διαβάσει την φετινή χρονιά。 Αν κάθε συγγραφέας που διαβάζουμε προσθέτει και ένα μικρό λιθαράκι στο αναγνωστικό μας σύμπαν διαμορφώνοντας το και απο λίγο， έρχονται συγγραφείς σαν τον Σουλτς -οι οποίοι είναι ελάχιστοι και μετρημένοι- και προσθέτουν τόνους， χτίζοντας το ολόκληρο。 Μετά την ανάγνωση του καταλαβαίνω πόσο σημαντικά μπορεί ένας συγγραφέας， μέσα στον χρόνο， να αλλάξει τον τρόπο ανάγνωσης。 Πραγματικός θησαυρός η έκδοση του。） 。。。more
Jacob Overmark
，
If Borges and Kafka had a baby， and this baby was turned into a movie it would probably look a bit like a mix of Buñuel and Marx Brothers added a splash of Woody Allan。Here everything is turned， upside down， sideways and in a few other directions。The stories are moving forward set free of time and space - childhood memories seen through a grown-up´s eyes， overanalyzed in a way that would make Jung and Freud start holding hands and exchange joyful kisses。 And then we return to a totally new persp If Borges and Kafka had a baby， and this baby was turned into a movie it would probably look a bit like a mix of Buñuel and Marx Brothers added a splash of Woody Allan。Here everything is turned， upside down， sideways and in a few other directions。The stories are moving forward set free of time and space - childhood memories seen through a grown-up´s eyes， overanalyzed in a way that would make Jung and Freud start holding hands and exchange joyful kisses。 And then we return to a totally new perspective， from a new starting point in time and space。The translation from the original Polish has received a lot of - I suppose， without any knowledge of Polish - well deserved praise， in the English edition the language is floating， flying， jumping and dancing in a enjoyable way。 Would Bruno Schulz have been Nobel material？ We will never know， eternal fame only belongs to the dead， and while the stories certainly had their moments they are easily forgotten again。 。。。more
A gin and orange， a lemon squash， and a scotch and water， please！
，
This was less a collection of short stories， more an amalgam of fevered dreams。 The tales are packed with vivid and disturbing imagery and a palpable sense of claustrophobic trepidation， where the grotesque is normal but nonetheless frightening。 The prose is beautiful， strange and demanding， but for all that， these are real stories about real people。Not （probably） for everyone， but the dark delight of Schulz should not be missed。
Димитар Димоски
，
Чудно и чудесно， како перница полна микрокосмоси。
Twój Cichy Wielbiciel
，
"W skrzyni na słomie leżała głupia Maryśka， blada jak opłatek i cicha jak rękawiczka， z której wysunęła się dłoń。 I jakby korzystając z jej snu， gadała cisza， żółta， jaskrawa， zła cisza， monologowała， kłóciła się， wygadywała głośno i ordynarnie swój maniacki monolog。 Czas Maryśki - czas więziony w jej duszy， wystąpił z niej straszliwie rzeczywisty i szedł samopas przez izbę， hałaśliwy， huczący， piekielny， rosnący w jaskrawym milczeniu poranka z głośnego młyna-zegara， jak zła mąka， sypka mąka， gł "W skrzyni na słomie leżała głupia Maryśka， blada jak opłatek i cicha jak rękawiczka， z której wysunęła się dłoń。 I jakby korzystając z jej snu， gadała cisza， żółta， jaskrawa， zła cisza， monologowała， kłóciła się， wygadywała głośno i ordynarnie swój maniacki monolog。 Czas Maryśki - czas więziony w jej duszy， wystąpił z niej straszliwie rzeczywisty i szedł samopas przez izbę， hałaśliwy， huczący， piekielny， rosnący w jaskrawym milczeniu poranka z głośnego młyna-zegara， jak zła mąka， sypka mąka， głupia mąka wariatów。" 。。。more
josé almeida
，