zajedenwiersz's review
Ta ksiazka jest tak smutna jak wciagajaca. Jestem zmeczona ta lektura, byla po prostu trudna ( tw: samobojstwo, samotnosc, depresja). Byla mimo wszstko ladna. Na pewno przeczytam wiecej ksiazek tego autora.
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
4.0
Shrewd, eccentric, and profoundly delightful collection of short (and I mean SHORT) stories! I discovered Etgar Keret after watching (and re-watching) his 2007 film Jellyfish, and most all of these stories (some are definitely less memorable than others) pack a similar punch. And did I mention eccentric? A billionaire buying up people's birthdays, a set of triplets convinced that a rabbit is actually their estranged father, a series of email exchanges between the hostile son of a Holocaust survivor and an escape room manager, a man known by "A." doomed to age and die rapidly but not before he falls in love with a woman known by "N.", a dystopia in which adolescents are drafted in a never-ending war with the promise of acquiring Pokemon-esque creatures, to name a few. While a few plot lines definitely followed a set formula or aesthetic (I didn't even need to check which titles were featured in The New Yorker, for instance) and more than one story uses the writer-writing-about-writing trope (it can be done, but not this often in the same collection), I had fun reading so many fresh, off-kilter stories. Definitely looking up more from this author!
embchess's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful collection of poignant, funny, bizarre, biting and clever stories. Each had its own twist, turn or insightful moment. A real pleasure to read and many stories will stay with me for a long time.
emgusk's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed some of these short stories more than others. Some had a Twilight Zone tinge. Others ended abruptly. Most of the main characters were somewhat unlivable men.
baduiszm's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
allieeveryday's review against another edition
4.0
Short story collections are always difficult to review, but for real, I'm over here thinking, how on earth does one review this collection?? Keret is an Israeli author, and this was translated into English, and I feel like I need to give props to the translators because I think this was pretty magnificent, if not a bit messed up.
The problem for reviewing (but a wonderful thing for reading) is that these stories kind of take you where you don't expect them to go, and so I kind of don't want to go into too much detail for fear of ruining the individual stories for someone else. They're just unexpected, and many are quite dark, and they have these little twists or turns of phrase where it's not something you're looking for, but then you're putting the book down on your lap, going "huh" and stopping to think for a few minutes before picking it back up.
Standout stories for me:
- The titular piece, and the first story in the collection, which gave me chills right off the bat, as a man tries to protect his son from witnessing a stranger's suicide.
- Tabula Rasa. Oh this one was wonderfully written and so very fucked up. I can't tell you anything about it.
- Car Concentrate, about a guy who has his father's old crushed-up convertible as a conversation piece in his living room. It's also messed up.
- Windows, about a man named Mickey who has trouble remembering things and is in what seems like assisted living, but who is helping whom?
- Yad Vashem, which I had to sit with for a while after I finished. About a couple visiting Israel, and their trip to a Holocaust museum. The juxtaposition of the children who were killed, and that the woman had recently had an abortion.
- Also the one that's not really titled, other than I guess "Glitch at the Edge of the Galaxy" query, which isn't so much a story as it is a series of emails throughout the book back and forth between a guy who is the manager of an escape room and a patron who wants to visit it on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
... which I guess is a lot of stories I thought were impressive for a short collection.
Anyway, despite it being weird and messed up and dark and dry in tone, I thought it was exceptional. 4.5 stars.
The problem for reviewing (but a wonderful thing for reading) is that these stories kind of take you where you don't expect them to go, and so I kind of don't want to go into too much detail for fear of ruining the individual stories for someone else. They're just unexpected, and many are quite dark, and they have these little twists or turns of phrase where it's not something you're looking for, but then you're putting the book down on your lap, going "huh" and stopping to think for a few minutes before picking it back up.
Standout stories for me:
- The titular piece, and the first story in the collection, which gave me chills right off the bat, as a man tries to protect his son from witnessing a stranger's suicide.
- Tabula Rasa. Oh this one was wonderfully written and so very fucked up. I can't tell you anything about it.
- Car Concentrate, about a guy who has his father's old crushed-up convertible as a conversation piece in his living room. It's also messed up.
- Windows, about a man named Mickey who has trouble remembering things and is in what seems like assisted living, but who is helping whom?
- Yad Vashem, which I had to sit with for a while after I finished. About a couple visiting Israel, and their trip to a Holocaust museum. The juxtaposition of the children who were killed, and that the woman had recently had an abortion.
- Also the one that's not really titled, other than I guess "Glitch at the Edge of the Galaxy" query, which isn't so much a story as it is a series of emails throughout the book back and forth between a guy who is the manager of an escape room and a patron who wants to visit it on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
... which I guess is a lot of stories I thought were impressive for a short collection.
Anyway, despite it being weird and messed up and dark and dry in tone, I thought it was exceptional. 4.5 stars.
essjay's review against another edition
2.5
The only two stories I gave above 3 stars were "Todd" and "Tabula Rasa." Not sure if I've changed so much as a reader or if he's changed as a writer, but this was my least favourite of his collections.
jravelar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
3.75
Varios cuentos muy buenos, otros buenos y algunos dirección malos.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide