The Street of Crocodiles

I'm so glad to have finally read this beautiful, stunning book. I'd been putting it off for ages, afraid that it wouldn't live up to it's towering reputation, but my fears were for naught - it's a wonderful read.

Sometimes surrealism can feel somewhat soulless - just someone playing games with words, images & concepts - lifeless caricatures pointlessly juddering in a travesty of a world, but not here. No matter how farcical or absurd a situation might be, it all felt somehow believable - like the reader had been granted special knowledge of the "true" nature of the universe. The characters were richly human, the apartment and the town the family lived in felt real and solid.

The book is structured as a collection of linked short stories, each depicting an episode in the family life of the narrator, often featuring the Father - a mad alchemist of sorts. The writing is vivid and beautiful, even lyrical, especially when the stories take flight into the unknown.

Highly recommended.