A review by mdpenguin
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bruno Schulz

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Having loved Street of Crocodiles, this was a disappointment. In the former, I felt that the surrealism and absurd hyperbole managed to express the truth of the human experience of the lives of the characters and community being depicted. While there was some of that in Sanatorium, most of it felt less meaningful and more, perhaps, playful or just experimental. Some of it seemed like Schulz playing at Kafka rather than using his own voice. Street was also much more coherent, feeling like a novel made up of episodes in the lives of the family, whereas the stories in Sanatorium don't really feel particularly connected. Some of the stories were good, when when they felt less authentically of Schulz' voice. Most weren't memorable for me, though, and I found that some of it could be a bit tedious at times for me. Though I don't regret reading it or consider it a waste of my time, I'm glad that I read Street of Crocodiles first because I'm not sure that I'd have picked it up if I'd read this one first.