Bruno Schulz - The Street of Crocodiles BOOK REVIEW

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Big thanks to Ridge for sending me this wallet and supporting the channel! Here’s the site if you want to check them out! > ridge.com/BETTERTHANFOOD

[@TerryStewart32]

Why don't you shave that moustache. By the way thanks for that Bruno Schultz review. It's long overdue and he's an author that's largely known only to connoisseurs of literature outside his native Poland

[@sydlawson3181]

The line "casually murdering Proust" fit perfectly into this poem I've been at war with since November so thank you sir Loved your review and taste, as always. Hope all is well and stay safe out there

[@chronosonalia]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Schulz is a brilliant author, so painfully unknown worldwide, I'm so glad you're spreading awareness of him

[@nahamaku1855]

Imagine Kafka and Proust having a child who likes poetry a bit too much. It's Bruno.

[@PoppyB2011]

My kind of dude. ♥

[@nikkivenable3700]

I have read neither Kafka or Proust. I wonder if this is a book I'd enjoy. I sure want to give it a try.

[@sydlawson3181]

@@nikkivenable3700 personally, being a big fan of poetry myself, its a must. So easy to escape into

[@olegwiththeknowledge1729]

How is Bruno Schulz the ”child” of Marcel Proust, Kafka ok (kind of lame but ok), but Proust?

[@align9218]

Clifford looks like he's gonna need a new bookshelf soon. That shelf is lookin' PACKED

[@feanor7080]

Beautiful, isn’t it?

[@Philliben1991]

Don't we all!?

[@bjwnashe5589]

Kudos. Bruno Schulz is a writer who needs to keep being read, who's reputation needs to be kept alive.

[@feanor7080]

Congrats on 100K, man! Been following you since 2016 and I’ve learned more from this channel than in my 5 years of university.

[@BoredBookAddict]

Thank you for your passion for great literature. Also congrats on a 100k subscribers.

[@ignacywinski192]

There is also a polish movie adaptating some short stories, by Wojciech Has. Called „Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą” of course.

[@leadbellymidnightangel]

Wonderful film adaptation

[@jayarrington240]

Great review. I have yet to read Shultz, but I saw a staging of 'Streets of Crocodiles', back in the mid 90s, in Toronto, which - wordlessly - had me literally in tears, by the end. More beautiful than any play I've ever seen. Good on you to bring him up. I will have to read the copy burning a rut in my bookshelf. Much appreciated, and thanks for the links. All the best.

[@adrian.k1982]

I love Bruno Schulz. My favourite one --> "Cinnamon's shops"

[@PoppyB2011]

The plot of Cynthia Ozick’s 1987 novel The Messiah of Stockholm, was originally said to have been taken from Schulz's Messiah. However It was later shown to have been written in honor of, and inspired by Schulz, and written in his style so hers may be worth a look as well? He was also a great illustrator and his illustrations are similar to those found in the Judend publications. Congratulations on reaching 100K! Extremely proud to be one of them!

[@Neat0_o]

It’s pretty neat to see that 100,000 subs on the page now, mate. Keep grinding. You’re seriously the best book reviewer on the tube.

[@alexskopic4044]

Interestingly, Schulz is a big influence on Thomas Ligotti, who often talks about him in interviews.

[@bentilbury2002]

Ah ha - so that's why his name seems so familiar! Thanks!

[@MisoHonk]

100K. Congrats!!!

[@emanueleboscofilms]

Great informative review as always!

[@juanm.6318]

Just stumbled onto your channel and it's excellent! Congrats! I was surprised and delighted to find a yt review of Schulz. I work in publishing and a couple of years back we published in Argentina new translations of Schulz's work into Spanish. And yes he was a vast universe of imagination. His style is quite unique and his blend of reality and the onyric is masterful! Cheers!

[@marinamashtaler1521]

The translation might not capture the dense poetic language, that creates Schulz's universe not only on the level of composition, objects and characters, but also on the level of sounds

[@mariamason1919]

I mentioned your channel on someone else's channel today and thought of this quote which reminds me of you..."Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality." ~ Dalai Lama You have taught me so many things Cliff and I wish I could tell you how important you are to so many people. You have been the best teacher I have ever had. I am 64 years old and learn something new every time I watch your channel. I have become a much better reader and have read great books I never would have heard of if not for you. Knowledge, understanding, compassion, empathy and of course love are what keep me putting one foot in front of the other each day. Learning and sharing what you have learned with others encompasses all of the above. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are leaving a beautiful legacy dear friend.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

That’s one of the kindest compliments I’ve received, thank you very much Maria.

[@Michael-Esparza]

Great book. A genius of description.

[@alexander6746]

Would love to see a Sebald or Krasznahorkai review!!!

[@TheLighIOANA]

Omg yes. Satantango....

[@юліямарущак-е3ж]

Hello from the very same Drohobych... your follower here! It's incredibly pleasant to listen to your review.

[@kaseyd264]

Thank you for being so thorough and having a great attitude and being a well-rounded reviewer. Subscribed!

[@راضيالنماصي-و8و]

You deserve 110M subscriptions. Watching with full admiration from Saudi Arabia’

[@annakosinska5446]

Thank you for sharing ... we are very proud of Bruno Schulz & many more :-)

[@ewajedrzejczyk8851]

Bruno and Gombrowicz were very good friends. You can read about Schulz in Journals of Witold Gombrowicz. I recommend to you 👌

[@AleksandarBloom]

Witkiewicz knew both of them. Worth a read.

[@crippleized]

Hi Cliff! I’m so glad to see you reach one hundred thousand subscribers. That’s crazy, what a milestone. Been here since 8k and i’ll stay here for as long as you’ll have me. I guess I should take this opportunity to thank you for all the great book recommendations over the years. I’ve had one hell of a journey since I first started watching your videos, and the books you’ve recommended has only made that trip all the more of a trip. Pleasant, disturbing, strange, ridiculous, fabulous. I’m currently re-reading ”the book of disquiet”. I forgot how much I love Pessoa. Damn.

[@PoppyB2011]

Hey Congratulations! This is one of my favorite channels.

[@johnstallings4049]

Congratulations on 100 K! How about a review of 'Johnny Git His Gun' by Dalton Trombo? ❄🌎❄

[@jeremyfee]

I just found your channel. This is great stuff. Peace!

[@levitybooks3952]

Congrats on 100K subs! I'm glad you're still managing to find these rare gems of world literature, putting this on my list for the future.

[@TheJudgeandtheJury]

I checked out your review of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and enjoyed it. This book seems interesting.

[@Jivansings]

Have you read Manuscripts found in Saragossa? Love to hear your take

[@porywisty]

Tandeta means cheap stuff, not discounted but made with cheap components, lacking meaning by default. Your remamrk made me thinking, completely aside from Schultz's genius, about the importance of this word in PL culture. Thanks a lot:) Love your channel.

[@Phoenix_Rises]

Bruno Schulz is great. I’d be curious why he wrote this book the way he did, with the more flowery style. Watching this video makes me want to read Street of Crocodiles again. Great review.

[@DemeterTelphousia-Erinyes]

I’m going to buy this! I love Kafka but I’m ashamed to admit I’ve not heard of Schulz. Wonderful to be introduced to a writer I’ve not heard of.

[@nozecone]

Having read through him more than once, I'm jealous!

[@jhonesrocha4691]

There's a brazilian edition of all the works of Schulz and it is one of the best things i've ever read; he's so good, it's a crime he isn't so well known... great review, as always, cheers.

[@torabueno567]

I saw a performance (more interpretation) of Street of Crocodiles by Simon McBurney... Theater of Complicité years and years ago. I did not get most of the story at the time, thanks this review clarifies a lot.

[@DZeitung]

Greeting from Drohobych, where Bruno Schulz was born.

[@seldomplayed6279]

If you want a palate cleanser after that, I would highly recommend Dawn Powell's "My Home is Far Away", another book about childhood. It's a book you can finish in a day, but it stays with you. You engage with it emotionally mostly. It tries to process the question of whether genius can be discovered or acknowledged if it's surrounded by collective narcissism. Great read. I recommend the version from the lovely Library of America edition. A great edition with 4-5 books for the cost of one hardcover.

[@antigaia1817]

i'm pretty sure this was one of Philip Roth's favorite books

[@marshallbarrows5626]

I knew that the Quay’s would be mentioned! I’m actually friends with a very close friend of the Quay’s and I have gotten some of their work on blu-ray for free!

[@tbergvinson]

Great vid, can't wait for Gravity's Rainbow

[@trock7542]

Love mu ridge wallet. Idk if it will really last a lifetime the binding is fraying a little

[@axolotlismybeautystandard]

Schulz wrote book called Cinnamon shop and this spice feels to me exactly like his writing. It’s delightful, sweet and somehow also dark and bitter. It finely brings out beauty of ordinary things. But it’s also very tense flavour if you have too much of it.

[@TeresaOaxacaArt]

I need to finish this book. It was great. I started it a log time ago in Belgium where I found it in an English section of s book store, starved for books to read. I just remember a lot of fabric being cut to pieces.

[@TormentedCuntessa]

Great video. Would really love to see a review of "Chevengur" or "The Foundation Pit" by Andrei Platonov

[@lukefromfiji]

Been looking for a copy of this one ever since I read Tree of Codes, which Jonathan Safran Foer literally cut out of his copy of Street of Crocodiles. ToC is more impressive as an art object than a novel (watch a video of the production process and be amazed!), but I appreciate that it does point readers back to the underappreciated source.

[@synthzz9178]

Bought the Italian collection after i read Ligotti's introduction for a polish edition and i don't think i won't stop thinking about those stories. Weird that I was more familiar with the early 70s movie and even more with the poster of the movie ... I am a sucker for polish movie posters, that might be an explanation.

[@gtabroXD]

have you read raymond roussel's locus solus? if not then you totally should! would love to hear your thoughts on that one

[@Tigerbrown44]

I’ve got this book and The Master and Margarita sitting next to each other on my shelf. Haven’t read either of them yet. Have you read The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa? I have a copy but haven’t read it yet.

[@nozecone]

The great tragedy of my life is that I read The Book of Disquiet - I can never again read it for the first time.

[@Tigerbrown44]

@@nozecone I’m going to read it next.

[@nozecone]

I envy you ... !@@Tigerbrown44

[@lostforwordspoetry]

Your visual imagery of ...murdering a universe of imagination .... is a perfectly tragic description.... it conjures a breathtaking and starry sky being painted black forever ✨🖤

[@Morfeusm]

This surrealism flow reminds me of Last Days of New Paris, by China Mieville totally different book but IMO similarly written

[@expeditiontoabyss3597]

great video; I was born and live in Lviv whole my life so it is even more inspiring and tragic laila tov Bruno

[@teeniebeenie8774]

ur awesome! thx

[@kikidee3204]

Kurt domain mentioned the brothers quay which I got into On here which led me to sanitorium under the sign of the hourglass, masterpiece, the sad thing was my mother became I'll and spent 3 months in hospital and I felt like I was living in the story, train journey and all how accurate and very real that story is if you ever go through death with someone read this book and as for time difference ? You will know death knows no time.anyway this writer is a genius nothing less

[@TheLiquid765]

Dose anybody know the name of the story Cliff mentions about him going to see his father in another country? it wasn't there in the edition I read.

[@wojciechsawala5590]

Sanatorium under the sign of the hourglass

[@TheLiquid765]

@@wojciechsawala5590 Thanks for that.

[@asderc1]

You've gotta watch the films of Wojciech Has. Surreal polish director who adapted Hourglass Sanatorium, however his master work is The Saragossa Manuscript. Three hours of intertwining conspiracies and dreams involving seductive Muslim sisters, Spanish inquisition, lots of sword fights, gypsies, ghosts and the occult. One of the best films I've seen in a long while!

[@authorgreene]

Sounds brilliant. Though it might be tough to read with large periods of little clarity to grasp on to.

[@anarchoautism]

Happy 100k! Was afraid you wouldn't make it

[@aungsettkyawmin9094]

just finished it. while i think the writing was too decadent (for my taste) in the beginning, i ended up really enjoying the stories for what they were. 'The Gale' actually reminds me of Wolfgang Hilbig a tad bit although i wouldn't be able to tell you why

[@anianakayama9059]

Even though I'm polish I haven't read this book yet. It was always on my list to read somewhere in the future but somehow never got to it. Time to change it! btw 'tandeta' is a polish word meaning something cheap and tacky

[@vrixphillips]

What're the two big doorstoppers on your shelf in the stack with Gravity's Rainbow? I'm curious.

[@georgej7271]

You are so interesting with your knowledge, would love to hang out with you or better yet, have you as a teacher.

[@troygaspard6732]

When you've had your fill of Kafka, Schultz is a whole new world. Or a whole new city.

[@Lolaloveslattes]

Schulz reminds me more of Robert Walser than Kafka, both in style and sense of humor. But there is a link between the three, definetely. I agree, I found it hard to read Schulz for the same reasons, thats why I much much prefer Walser. Not related to the review, have you read José Donoso? I think you might enjoy The Obscene Bird of Night. He’s a lesser known latinoamerican Boom writer, like Cortázar, García Márquez and Vargas Llosa. I’ve never read anything like it.

[@anonimowyabstynent8379]

Haven't seen translation of his works into English, but knowing it's original Polish version, it will require equal poetic genius to express it's depths. As ppl don't appreciate poetry that much now he is rather unpopular nowadays. He may be one of very few reasons to learn Polish.

[@svvmaq_]

I agree with some of your critiques but I love his work and was often blown away by his metaphors and descriptions. his work is made for the highly sensitive peoples - lol

[@keatonthecretin3080]

Damn Im so pumped for that Pynchon review. Fuck the war! Any interest in reviewing the Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski? That book is insane, and Kosinski's life is pretty insane too. A brilliant writer, but as much so a poor hoaxter and plagiarist, you wonder how much of everything is true, his own invention, or someone else's, and it makes the whole experience so much more resonant, strangely, in sort of a Genet-esque way (specifically Genet's plays, and how he would manipulate the audience in the Screens, the Maids, the Blacks, etc.)

[@choggerboom]

Cliff’s spirit animal is a Falcon

[@Sthemingway]

Brothers Quay are fantastic.

[@snovid3306]

"There's no space"... That's intentional. Bruno was most probably a masochist, it shows in his pictures. He also hardly ever traveled away from his hometown. Space was a scary thing to him.

[@ronijoe3777]

great to see this book reviewed greetings from Türkiye❤🤍

[@wesleyyoung4063]

Hey Clifford, not sure if this author has ever been recommended to you but Michael Cisco is both a very interesting author and a very pleasant human being if you want to read some weird and rewarding fiction.

[@bigfat4172]

God damn right gravitys rainbow is wonderful

[@TeatroGrotesco]

It's possible Schultz might have agreed with you. Circumstances as they were the stories may never have found a good editor who could work with Bruno and really focus the rich paint strokes.

[@mudgetheexpendable]

Like picking the marshmallows out of the rocky-road fudge-brownie chocolate ice cream. Not for me, either.

[@agagaohrara]

Hi Clifford, a friend and I recently read The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat together and we both think it would make for a great review/read for you. Love the channel btw!

[@cianomahony9213]

I’m fairly sure he reviewed it on his Patreon awhile back :)

[@agagaohrara]

@@cianomahony9213 thank you so much, I’ll be sure to check it out :)

[@joem5615]

Buddy did you not think that a large contribution to his vibe in this book was the impending Nazi invasion and occupation? I feel like knowing that was coming and being in the headspace of knowing imprisonment and death are likely in your near future kinda parallels pretty well to the contrast of childhood wonder/adult reality. Also I bet this dude went ham for Venus in furs ..and if you want to talk about a book with completely unesescary poetic waxing well....

[@nozecone]

An absolutely brilliant book. Schulz is one of those rare writers who show you an alternative way of experiencing the world. But if his decadent sensibility doesn't have innate appeal, it can be tedious, I suppose.

[@shannonm.townsend1232]

Pretty sure a movie was based on his Sanatorium, circa 1970's

[@donaldkelly3983]

There is but one god and his name was Bruno Schulz!

[@stevescott1454]

I have just discovered you brother & the review was great. There are just so many shitty reviewers, with shitty opinions, reviewing shitty books on KZbin - it's like a fucking plague or something. Thank you for not being one of these idiots. I have never heard of this Polish guy, but he sound like my cup of crazy - so will check him out. I, like you, am addicted to reading great books (and coffee of course). There is no TV for me. I'm working my way through Proust at the moment (half way through V3) - and will spend some time reading French lit for the next few months or so. I kind of like to bounce about in Europe in that 1820s - 1930s period. If you know of any oddball French novels I might like, please let me know and I'll add it to the list.

[@kurosaki08]

Goddammit cliff, can't believe you didn't like bruno

[@robertmagee3634]

would be interested to see how you like Cormac McCarthy's first novel "The Orchard Keeper"; perhaps you've read it already; if not, I'd bet there'd be a similar review to this - lots of magniloquent description in that one (like all of them)

[@susanburgess820]

How could i forget? My mom was born in the us, but her family came from hungry, barely escaping the nazis. 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

I don’t think I like you. But. You seem smart. Fair amount of gratitude for your existence. ✊🏿🤘🏾🤎🖤

[@Joe-ol5bq]

lets GOOOOOOOO

[@WillShakes423]

A room without books is like a body without a soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero

[@joem5615]

Shulz was murdered by an ss officer who had a quarrel with a gestapo who used Shulz as a slave I believe

[@croinkix]

"fanatical plant life" wow

[@giantwolverine1740]

The Polish Kafka

[@ellelala39]

Congrats, C.L.S.!

[@humaninterface7153]

Never heard of this guy

[@j74s98]

When you sit down, does the Ridge Wallet hurt your butt?

[@susanburgess820]

Thank you sir. I believe it was a nazi soldier, who didnt know that another nazi was protecting him for his own reasons. Heartbreaking. I believe he was coming home after jewish people were allowed, from a bakery getting a loaf of bread. My father escaped from the holocaust. He was born in warsaw poland.😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

[@nozecone]

I read that the dirtbag who killed him was a rival of the Nazi who was protecting Schulz, and that was the motive for the murder.

[@shaneharrington3655]

I am not going to read 99% of these books, I just find these videos calming

[@hasanasif7622]

Read Qur'an and share your views.

[@Ernesto_the_Caffiend]

Cliff's facial hair is a mystery

[@funnytomato8355]

Boomer, give advice about wallet

[@johnstallings4049]

ToMATo 🍅

[@spinecrackers1497]

this review is a legit mess lol

[@seansabu310]

A firm handshake to you , I am more than delighted to subscribe to your page only with the onerous regret that I never stumble onto it sooner .......this distinguished piece of literature besotted me when I first encountered Mr Schultz oneric prose, corallory his work is situated within the halcyon nostalgia of recollection I'm so grateful for your channel now so thank you for this insight and analysis ...........have you ever heard of Gregor von rezzori ermine in cznapole it's well worth the investment....thank you kindly sir