The Divine Duty of Servants: A Book of Worship based on the artwork of Bruno Schulz by Rolando Perez

Published by Cool Grove Press

The Divine Duty of Servants is a unique book in many ways. It is based upon the artwork of Bruno Schulz, though sadly, because Schulz's estate did not grant the author permission to use any of Schulz's artwork, none is featured here. There are instead some wonderful illustrations by Malcolm McKesson which capture the subject well, along with photographs from the same theme, taken by the author himself.

The content of this book is highly sexual and deals with the masochism and fetishism that is obvious in Schulz's work. This is done via way of essays, short stories, poetry and notes, my favourites of which were the Snow White and Cinderella tales, retold with a fetish spin. The author includes a mass of information which at first glance appears to have little to do with the subject of the book but at some point in reading, the reader can't help but notice that all the material in the book meshes together almost effortlessly. I am sure it wasn't a simple task for the author to achieve that though.

Overall, after reading this book, I was still unsure how I felt about it as it caused many a knee-jerk reaction along the way. That said, it also provided me with a great deal of food for thought, an insight into a great artist and his tragic history, and I am sure it is a book I will read again, perhaps after exploring some of Bruno Schulz's fiction.

It definitely makes an interesting read and I do love that three days later, as I write this review, I am still thinking about the content and subject matter. It contains a lot of explicit language so if you are easily offended, it may not be the book for you.

For the artwork of Bruno Schulz, you can go to www.google.com and google his name and look under images. There you will find countless examples.

Author's website: http://members.aol.com/rolez/