hillarious and very very funny ( )

Maybe it was a Keret overdose, but I just wasn't as mesmerized by these stories. I feel if you're set on reading both books, read this one first since the other will be a step up. On the other hand, if you read only one, read [The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God]. ( )

Not a book I would normally pick up or think to enjoy but actually proved to be quite good reading. The voice is predominantly irreverent and adolescent yet somehow never too vulgar despite the common themes of sex, ogling, death and cheating spouses. As someone else put it, Keret writes from the authentic point of view of a 13 year old but with a sardonic and sometimes satirical underpining. ( )

I quite enjoyed them. The stories almost read as a book as the narrator in each of the stories has a similar voice. The surreal-ness seems a little forced in some of the stories, but when they feel natural, the stories shine. ( )

What can I say, except Etgar Keret is a genius! To borrow the words of William Blake, "To see a world in a grain of sand" is what Keret does with all of his stories - at first glance, it's just sand, but when you stop and reflect, the whole world is contained within. Keret's short, quirky stories are seemingly surreal or just plain odd, but in each and every story is a core that speaks loudly of humanity and its follies, idiosyncrasies, and lovability. I can't recommend Keret highly enough.

Links to stories and more ( )