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A review by ladyk23
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bruno Schulz
4.0
I should start by saying I only "read" (listened to) the short story Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, not the whole collection under the paperback with the same title. But I am intrigued enough by this one story that I absolutely want to read more by Schulz, and as I understand that his career was cut short by his untimely death during the Second World War, there really is no reason for me not to read all of his works as I know there aren't that many.
It's really hard to give a synopsis of this story without making it sound incredibly dull, which it ought to be, but Schulz makes the whole thing so magical and dream-like that you find yourself so drawn into this world he has created, and wanting to know so much more about the Sanatorium and the small town that it sits in.
This was another pick from Tony Walker of the Classic Ghost Stories Podcast, and I can see why he chose to cover this story - which is also in the public domain if anyone preferred to read it than listen to a reading - as it's a great one to sink your teeth into as a narrator, and I'd imagine is largely unheard of to most people given the early death of the author, and therefore lack of subsequent works. I certainly had never heard of him, but I will endeavour to seek out more of his writing in the future.
If you like odd, character-driven tales then this is certainly one for you. The fact that this story was translated from Polish, and yet has maintained it's perfectly surreal narrative, I think is also a testament to Schulz skill as a writer. Highly recommended.
It's really hard to give a synopsis of this story without making it sound incredibly dull, which it ought to be, but Schulz makes the whole thing so magical and dream-like that you find yourself so drawn into this world he has created, and wanting to know so much more about the Sanatorium and the small town that it sits in.
This was another pick from Tony Walker of the Classic Ghost Stories Podcast, and I can see why he chose to cover this story - which is also in the public domain if anyone preferred to read it than listen to a reading - as it's a great one to sink your teeth into as a narrator, and I'd imagine is largely unheard of to most people given the early death of the author, and therefore lack of subsequent works. I certainly had never heard of him, but I will endeavour to seek out more of his writing in the future.
If you like odd, character-driven tales then this is certainly one for you. The fact that this story was translated from Polish, and yet has maintained it's perfectly surreal narrative, I think is also a testament to Schulz skill as a writer. Highly recommended.