The Keith of Crocodiles (and other stories)

Read from Tuesday, January 18th to Tuesday, January 25th. 

The Street of Crocodiles, and Other Stories, by Bruno Schultz.  This is the collected fiction of Polish writer Bruno Schultz, who was tragically killed by a Nazi Gestapo officer.  It includes, The Street of Crocodiles, Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass, and three other short stories, Fatherland, Autumn and The Republic of Dreams.  I only learned of Schultz after hearing about Jonathan Safran Foer's new book Tree of Codes.  It is a different die-cut on each page that is more like a work of art in a book.  I am eagerly awaiting that book, I ordered it online but it is delayed by the publisher.  Tree of Codes is cut out of Street of Crocodiles, so I thought I should read the full version before seeing what it has been carved into.  I was not disappointed, this book was excellent.  I can see why Foer said it was his favorite book of all time. 

All of the writing in this book can be discussed together.  While Sanatorium and Crocodiles were published at different times, they are remarkably similar.  There is no traditional plot, just many different chapters or short stories that revolve around a family, from the point of view of the young narrator, Joseph.  The main character could be considered Father, who while a shop-owner, is also the family eccentric.  He is an inventor, scientist, astronomer, bird-breeder (I guess you could say), and mythological Demiurge.  All of the stories are magical in that sense, and Father repeatedly transforms, dies, comes back to life.  It is tough to encompass all of the stories in this review.  In one, a comet is heading to Earth; there are the magical cinnamon shops in town; the street of crocodiles section of the city; the sanatorium that Father and Joseph are trapped in, where time moves backwards, and Father exists almost everywhere at once; there are cockroaches, and birds, and magnificent gales.  There are stamp collections with political intrigue, wax figures come to life, a magical Book, and a Republic of Dreams.

Most amazing is Schultz's use of language.  Although it is translated from Polish to English, this book is just simply beautiful to read.  The imagery, description, metaphors and everything else is brilliant, and I had to read certain passages out loud.  Especially evident throughout the book is his descriptions of seasons.  Each story is firmly set within a certain season, which is beautifully personified.  Other common themes and symbols throughout were the flies and cockroaches, the wind, the town square, Adela the maid, and the beds as a boat to sail away.  Similar to magical realism, everything had a fantastical, mythical element to it.  This is the kind of book I would love to write (if I had that amount of talent.)  I am so very excited for Tree of Codes, and I need to read this book again as well.  First five star review.  Five out of five stars.

Beds unmade for days on end, piled high with bedding crumpled and disordered from the weight of dreams, stood like deep boats waiting to sail into the dank and confusing labyrinths of some dark starless Venice.