Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Picador (2002)
Description
Classic warped and wonderful stories from a "genius" (The New York Times) and master storyteller. Brief, intense, painfully funny, and shockingly honest, Etgar Keret's stories are snapshots that illuminate with intelligence and wit the hidden truths of life. As with the best writers of fiction, hilarity and anguish are the twin pillars of his work. Keret covers a remarkable emotional and narrative terrain--from a father's first lesson to his boy to a standoff between soldiers caught up in the Middle East conflict to a slice of life where nothing much happens. New to Riverhead's list, these wildly inventive, uniquely humane stories are for fans of Etgar Keret's inimitable style and readers of transforming, brilliant fiction.
User reviews
LibraryThing member kidzdoc
The first collection of short stories by Israeli writer Etgar Keret published in English starts out brilliantly, with several surreal and fantastic tales that seem to be a witches' brew of the best of Jorge Luis Borges, mixed with a splash of Julio Cortázar and José Donoso. In the title story, a
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principled but misunderstood bus driver invokes a higher calling to serve one of his passengers, though with an unexpected result. In "Uterus", a young man despairs when his mother's organ, preserved for prosperity in a local museum, is sold and then hijacked by eco-terrorists. And, in "A Souvenir of Hell", a young Uzbek woman works at a convenience store which primarily serves the residents of Hell, who emerge from its mouth for one day of freedom every 100 years. However, the stories in the latter half of the book, particularly the lengthy Kneller's Happy Campers, were very disappointing to this reader. Despite this, I was sufficiently impressed and enthralled with many of Keret's stories in this collection, and despite my mediocre rating of The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God I will eagerly search for more of his books soon. Show Less
LibraryThing member wunderkind
This is a book of short stories by "undoubtedly the most popular writer among Israeli youth", although I feel like that's misleading because these don't feel like stories written expressly for young people (although maybe "youth" just means people under the age of 35? yet what is youth but a state
This is the story about a bus driver who would never open the door of the bus for people who were late.
There's this village in Uzbekistan that was built right smack at the mouth of Hell.
The son of the Head of the Mossad didn't even know he was the son of the Head of the Mossad.
Dad wouldn't buy me a Bart Simpson doll.
I will definitely be reading more of Keret's books.
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of mind? etc.). Most of Keret's short stories are very short, like maybe they average two-and-a-half pages, but they are also very good; he's not shocking or violent or trying too hard to be funny, and he doesn't really traffic in twist endings, but his stories still feel surprising and fresh. It's hard to summarize the plot of two-page stories without giving things away, so here are first sentences from some of them:This is the story about a bus driver who would never open the door of the bus for people who were late.
There's this village in Uzbekistan that was built right smack at the mouth of Hell.
The son of the Head of the Mossad didn't even know he was the son of the Head of the Mossad.
Dad wouldn't buy me a Bart Simpson doll.
I will definitely be reading more of Keret's books.
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LibraryThing member bibliobibuli
Very enjoyable. Most of the stories are short-shorts, just a couple of pages long - snack length.
He reminds me so much of Murukami. His characters inhabit a universe where all the rules of nature can be broken - the inhabitants of hell are allowed out now and again for souvenir shopping in
He reminds me so much of Murukami. His characters inhabit a universe where all the rules of nature can be broken - the inhabitants of hell are allowed out now and again for souvenir shopping in
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Uzbekistan, a man screams a wish into a hole in the wall and gains an angel for a friend, another makes a giant pipe into which he vanishes. (You can hear Etgar reading Pipes, here and there are plenty of other links to his work and downloadable stories on this site.) Show Less
LibraryThing member Magadri
I absolutely loved this collection! There were a lot of gems in this book. A few of the stories were difficult for me to understand exactly WHY they were written, but not many, and I feel that I will understand them in due time. If you liked The Nimrod Flipout and The Girl on the Fridge, this
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collection will not be a disappointment! Show Less
LibraryThing member Sean191
According to his bio, Keret is one of the most popular writers among Israeli youth. There's a reason for that - even though his stories are dark, they're hilarious. His ideas are out there and bizarre, but they still seem to make sense somehow... definitely worth reading.
LibraryThing member -Eva-
Flash fiction has always been a bit of a mystery to me, that is, until I picked up this book. Keret is a genius at writing a vignette that looks small (a mere 3-4 pages), but which contains an entire universe. I just fell in love with Keret's writing and his insight into the human heart. The
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stories are so varied that most everyone will find something to love - from endearing stories like "Breaking the Pig," where a little boy releases his piggybank into the wild rather than be forced to break it with a hammer to heart-wrenching stories like "Cocked and Loaded," which describes with painful poignancy the impotent rage many Israeli soldiers feel towards the Palestinian population. Trivia: For those who have seen the movie Wristcutters, the original story ("Kneller's Happy Campers") can be found in this collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member mjlivi
These brief absurd stories left me pretty cold - there are flashes of humour and pathos, but it all felt too arch and self-consciously wacky to me.
LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
If you aren’t already familiar with Keret’s writing, it make take a few of these very short stories to sync up with his particular comic wavelength. Written originally in Hebrew and set, often, in Israel, there are commonplace life events such as universal military service that set the subject
There is one longer story here called, “Kneller’s Happy Campers”. It reveals, I think, what happens when you take this style and expand it. It almost begs to become surrealist or absurdist, depending on your point of view. In “Kneller’s Happy Campers”, all of the participants are actually suicides and this is what amounts to their afterlife. It’s a great premise, but you are probably already wondering, “Where do you go with that?” If you are Etgar Keret, you mostly just stay put, wander around a bit, and then head back to where you started. Which makes the afterlife pretty much like life.
Gently recommended.
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matter apart from much North American writing. The stories here are slight, almost oblique, more scene or sketch than story, really. Many carry an overt moral, which may or may not be subverted by the narrator. But the best of them are both ironic and non-ironic at the same time. And that is a delicate balance to strike.There is one longer story here called, “Kneller’s Happy Campers”. It reveals, I think, what happens when you take this style and expand it. It almost begs to become surrealist or absurdist, depending on your point of view. In “Kneller’s Happy Campers”, all of the participants are actually suicides and this is what amounts to their afterlife. It’s a great premise, but you are probably already wondering, “Where do you go with that?” If you are Etgar Keret, you mostly just stay put, wander around a bit, and then head back to where you started. Which makes the afterlife pretty much like life.
Gently recommended.
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LibraryThing member TheBookJunky
There is a direct path between Keret's fevered imagination and his written page. There are no speed limits or detours. The stories won't be inhibited by oppressive laws of physics, or even by reality. These are short intense bursts of 'what ifs'.
In "One Last Story and That's It", a demon shows up
"A Souvenir of Hell" is about a tourist village, located at the mouth of the entrance to Hell. It capitalises on the tourist traffic going to Hell. "Hole in the Wall" is a place to yell wishes in to, so a man wishes for and gets an angel, who is some stooped skinny guy that wears a trench coat to hide his wings.
Surreal, bizarre, funny.
In "One Last Story and That's It", a demon shows up
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to the house of a writer, to take away his talent. The writer begs him to let him do just one more story. Well, ok, the demon agrees, and so he just hangs out for a bit, watching tv and drinking lemonade. Finally the time comes, and the demon pulls out the talent, folds it neatly and packs it away into a box lined with styrofoam peanuts. The writer half-jokes, hey if you get overstocked on that talent, I'll be glad to take it back. And the demon starts to think, this job is such a crock of shit. Just two more stops til the end of the day."A Souvenir of Hell" is about a tourist village, located at the mouth of the entrance to Hell. It capitalises on the tourist traffic going to Hell. "Hole in the Wall" is a place to yell wishes in to, so a man wishes for and gets an angel, who is some stooped skinny guy that wears a trench coat to hide his wings.
Surreal, bizarre, funny.
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LibraryThing member mkunruh
I read the first 3-4 stories when I first picked this book up, and then finished the rest this past week. I was really impressed by this collection. His stories are funny, complex, sometimes profound, and very relevant (how many review bingo words did I get there?). I expected quirky but I really
The last piece reminded me of a Kelly Link story (there are lots of other similarities there) and would like to read both of them again back to back.
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don't think they are. The last piece reminded me of a Kelly Link story (there are lots of other similarities there) and would like to read both of them again back to back.
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LibraryThing member ennuiprayer
I'm going to be honest, the only reason I picked up The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be Godby Etgar Keret was for the story "Kneller's Happy Campers," which was adapted into the film Wristcutters. I haven't watched movie yet, mostly because I wanted to read the story. It's silly, I know, but sometimes
Either way, the book is brilliant. From start to finish - which just happens to be "Kneller's Happy Campers" - the book is filled with stories that are a little bit amusing, a little bit lovely and downright weird. Warped and Wonderful, as the quip says at the bottom of the cover. It's not lie. From grandfathers coming back as sneakers, finding Heaven within a pipe or a man who is afflicted with a crippling disability of being too nice, the stories never have pause to ask whether or not they're believable. You simply accept them.
Much like Bizarro fiction - from authors such as Carlton Mellick III - Etgar Keret engages us with themes that we can relate to or recognize while dazzling our senses with a slice of imagination that we normally don't read in contemporary literature. His voice carries through the pages, description wrapping us.
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reading the story first allows me to watch the movie comfortably. What I didn't know was that Etgar Keret's collection of short stories is a translation. I've mentioned how translations tend to mess with my mind sometimes. Either way, the book is brilliant. From start to finish - which just happens to be "Kneller's Happy Campers" - the book is filled with stories that are a little bit amusing, a little bit lovely and downright weird. Warped and Wonderful, as the quip says at the bottom of the cover. It's not lie. From grandfathers coming back as sneakers, finding Heaven within a pipe or a man who is afflicted with a crippling disability of being too nice, the stories never have pause to ask whether or not they're believable. You simply accept them.
Much like Bizarro fiction - from authors such as Carlton Mellick III - Etgar Keret engages us with themes that we can relate to or recognize while dazzling our senses with a slice of imagination that we normally don't read in contemporary literature. His voice carries through the pages, description wrapping us.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2015
ISBN
0330364286 / 9780330364287