earlyandalone's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a quick, entertaining, and enlightening read. Parts of me wanted Keret to go deeper--to tell us more about his childhood, his experiences in the army, his relationship with his family, to give us more context into the political situation in Israel--but then I realized it wouldn't be the same book at all.
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
I recently heard Etgar Keret on this American Life telling stories about his mother, and he charmed my socks off. I tried to read these stories with his voice in my head and charmed my own socks off. I also laughed a lot. A few of the stories at the beginning of the collection ended with punchlines (bah-dum-tiss!) which is not my preference. But they just got better and better as I kept reading.
lapantofola83's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing book, a brilliant sense of humor and a good performance, but above all a special human being. Etgar, do you want to come over for coffee one day?
memita's review against another edition
4.0
Não conhecia o trabalho do autor, só sabia que era israelita e que este livro era composto por crónicas. Na verdade, acho que a melhor definição é livro de memórias, uma vez que ele nos vai contando pequenas histórias que se passaram consigo ao longo de sete anos. Ele passa por diferentes temas e todos acabam por se correlacionar muito bem entre si: desde o que é viver sob uma guerra, criar um filho, do amor que sente pela mulher, da religião judaica, à morte do pai e à distância que a irmã ultra-religiosa impôs entre os dois, do que é ser filho de sobreviventes do holocausto, às viagens de avião e ao estar longe da família. Gostei bastante da forma breve, porém, bastante profunda, que ele descreve momentos importantes da sua vida. Não são grandes acontecimentos, às vezes ele apenas escreve sobre o seu dia a dia, mas são momentos que o marcaram de alguma forma. E é muito interessante porque, apesar de ter muito pouco em comum com ele (religião, profissão, ambiente), senti uma grande proximidade e adorei conhecer um pouco da vida dele. As "crónicas" são muito curtas, mas funcionam muito bem assim, acabam sempre por nos ensinar alguma coisa ou por nos relembrar de outras e, na maioria delas, fiquei com aquela sensação de estar em casa. O que só me faz pensar que somos todos iguais neste mundo, independentemente da religião, cultura e costumes. Gostei muito deste livro e quero, sem dúvida alguma, conhecer a obra ficcional deste escritor.
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
3.0
Etgar Keret's most recent collection, Fly Already, as well as his breathtaking film Jellyfish, won me over to reading more of his work. Each essay in The Seven Good Years functions with a vignette and/or bemused observations about the conditions of the war, global relations, humanity in general, parenthood, and so forth. I do think the essays need to be longer, as most of them wrap up the main idea two sentences after really introducing it. So many adhere to the same structure of anecdote+food for thought+moralizing with ideal or sardonic hypotheticals that quickly they become a bit predictable. Along the same vein as David Sedaris, the writing is wry, the humor is light, and the writing doesn't make you think much as even the heavy stuff (as I mentioned earlier) wraps up quickly before it provokes too much deliberation or conviction, and the majority rests on the quirkier nature of Keret's life, from normalizing the threat of death and attacks by playing pastrami sandwich games during air raids to spending a night in a museum. The reader gets what he cares about, that he is ultimately happy (though happiness is elusive), and that the history and culture of what defines him are things he's also (re-)discovering as he goes.
elianachow's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Audiobooked. (I know, shocking.) Got some good laughs and “awww” moments to keep me company on a road trip.
Audiobooked. (I know, shocking.) Got some good laughs and “awww” moments to keep me company on a road trip.