A review by vonnegutian
Missing Kissinger by Etgar Keret, Miriam Shlesinger, Sondra Silverston
4.0
Etgar Keret - what a name! I’m not even sure how you pronounce it but you should remember it because this here is a very talented man. I’m not really a short story person but I do tend to read a few collections a year.
This wasn’t the first of Keret’s books I bought (that was Kneller’s Happy Campers) but it is the first I’ve read and I’m 99% sure he’s my favourite short story writer. Think George Saunders’ The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil/ Persuasion Nation meets Shaun Tan meets Kurt Vonnegut... maybe. I’m not sure, it’s been a while since I finished it and the memories aren’t as fresh but the one thing I do know is that this guy can write. His short stories do everything I could ask a short story to do: quickly involving me in characters’ plights, make me think ‘that’s a cool situation to write a story about’ and surprise me with a twist. There are of course other things but these particularly strike me as being hugely important in stories that have so little time to root. The other problem with short stories are the duds, but this was another thing that struck me reading Missing Kissinger: there are very few, if any, duds. I predict he will be little known but I urge you to give him a try as his short, leftfield, witty offerings are nothing short of brilliant.
This wasn’t the first of Keret’s books I bought (that was Kneller’s Happy Campers) but it is the first I’ve read and I’m 99% sure he’s my favourite short story writer. Think George Saunders’ The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil/ Persuasion Nation meets Shaun Tan meets Kurt Vonnegut... maybe. I’m not sure, it’s been a while since I finished it and the memories aren’t as fresh but the one thing I do know is that this guy can write. His short stories do everything I could ask a short story to do: quickly involving me in characters’ plights, make me think ‘that’s a cool situation to write a story about’ and surprise me with a twist. There are of course other things but these particularly strike me as being hugely important in stories that have so little time to root. The other problem with short stories are the duds, but this was another thing that struck me reading Missing Kissinger: there are very few, if any, duds. I predict he will be little known but I urge you to give him a try as his short, leftfield, witty offerings are nothing short of brilliant.