Kneller's Happy Campers

Etgar Keret impresses with a novella that shows his continuing growth as a writer and a imaginative force. The book slips in a few cliches now and again and even with suspension of disbelief there are a few odd bits and ends that don't quite add up, but these are like specks here and there in what is otherwise an intriguing and genuinely moving story.

Keret deals with a difficult (to put it as lightly as possible) subject, suicide, in a casual, almost nonchalant way but somehow still manages to be sympathetic and even warm. His story seems well aware of itself and can almost be read straddling the line between story as story and story as self aware observation on writing. I wouldn't go so far as to label this work post modern (the show more cliches and story developments mentioned don't seem quite THAT self aware) but Keret is without a doubt a writer's writer who doesn't just know his craft but is seeking to better it through tough substantive and stylistic challenges (the former more than the latter though the length of the story and Keret's short story formatting in general can be taken as evidence for the latter).

I read this book in basically one sitting. This wasn't because it was short but rather because it kind of demanded to be finished. Another great read by an always engaging writer who has yet to disappoint. show less

Weird and wonderful collection of very short chapters, almost vignettes, that take place in an afterlife exclusively populated by people who killed themselves. Oddly, the hereafter looks a lot like modern-day Israel. It's a really short book, full with wry wit, that nonetheless leaves the reader pondering existential questions. Think Gary Stheyngart's earlier novels, but funnier and better. It made me very curious to read other works by Etgar Keret.

This is an oddly sweet novella about the afterlife in the place reserved just for people who've commited suicide. This other world is actually rather like ours (people still have boring jobs, girl troubles and go out drinking), but with a few surreal twists. Each chapter begins with the chapter number and a sentence to describe what is going to happen which was a nice little device. Despite the potentially morbid subject matter, I found this book quite delightful and oddly comforting.

Etgar Keret. Good lord, that man can write so much with so little. As with all his short stories, this was a fantastic read. The characters are so well created, their situations such a pleasure to read and digest. Keret is a master of the genre, and as a fellow author, I can only hope to one day approach a fraction of his skill.

If you've never read Keret, this is an excellent place to start. You can also see how it translates to the screen in Wristcutters: A Love Story (also an excellent film).