''Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass'' is the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

title of ''Sanatorium Pod Klepsydrą'', a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

writer and painter

Bruno Schulz Bruno Schulz (12 July 1892 – 19 November 1942) was a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish writer, fine artist, Literary criticism, literary critic and Art education, art teacher. He is regarded as one of the great Polish (language), Po ...

, published in 1937.

Plot introduction

The novel takes the form of a collection of dreamlike, poetic short stories that reflect on the death of the narrator's father, as well as life in the modest Jewish quarter of

Drohobycz Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it was ...

, the provincial town in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

where Schulz was born. The hourglass of the title refers to the use of this object as a symbol in obituaries and death notices among the Poles.

Plot summary

In "Father's Last Escape," the concluding story of the novel, Schulz makes an explicit reference to

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

's ''

The Metamorphosis ''The Metamorphosis'' (), also translated as ''The Transformation'', is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''The Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inex ...

'' (Schulz helped his one-time fiancee translate Kafka's ''The Trial'' into Polish, a translation for which Schulz provided an introduction). The old man's business has been liquidated and all his functions and authorities taken over by his wife or relatives. Even the pretty, young Polish maid Adela has gone and been replaced by Genya, "anemic, pale, and boneless,…and so absent-minded that she sometimes made a white sauce from old letters and invoices." Father's response is to turn himself first into wallpaper, then a piece of clothing, and finally into a big crablike insect who — unlike Kafka's passive victim — runs around the house, searching endlessly for something. His wife can catch the creature in her handkerchief sometimes, but cannot hold him. One day, however, she must have managed because Father appears at lunch, as the main course, after which he escapes the table, never to be seen again.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

*''

The Hour-Glass Sanatorium ''The Hourglass Sanatorium'' () is a 1973 Polish surrealist film directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, starring Jan Nowicki, Tadeusz Kondrat, Mieczysław Voit, Halina Kowalska and Gustaw Holoubek. It is also known as ''The Sandglass'' in English-speak ...

'', a 1973 film based on several Schulz stories. *''Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass'', a 2024 film by

The Brothers Quay Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for t ...

combining

stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

and live action.

Music inspired by this work

*'' Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schultz - The Cracow Klezmer Band Plays John Zorn'', performed by

The Cracow Klezmer Band The Cracow Klezmer Band was a Polish jazz quartet formed by accordionist and composer in 1997 in the city of Kraków, and recorded for Tzadik Records. The group performed at Jewish Culture festivals in Hungary, Finland, Poland, Prague, and the Cz ...

. Composed by

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

Tzadik Records Tzadik is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a not-for-p ...

TZ-7349 *On 19 November 2024 (the 82nd anniversary of the murder of

), composer Timothy Nelson released ''Always Night Here (Music Inspired by the Writings & Drawings of Bruno Schulz, Volume One)'', ''Ghost Print Of It (Music Inspired by the Writings & Drawings of Bruno Schulz, Volume Two)'', ''Nest Upended (Music Inspired by the Writings & Drawings of Bruno Schulz, Volume Three)'', and ''Slowly Rising Swallow (Music Inspired by the Writings & Drawings of Bruno Schulz, Volume Four)'', four volumes of music recorded between 2007 and 2024 for the soundtrack of the third feature-length film by the

Brothers Quay Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for t ...

, ''Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass''.

References

Works by Bruno Schulz 1937 Polish novels Novels set in Austria Novels set in Ukraine de:Das Sanatorium zur Todesanzeige {{1930s-novel-stub