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gadicohen93's review against another edition
5.0
Pitom Dfika BaDelet was the first book I read in Hebrew in years. Literally, years -- like maybe eight years. I think Harry Potter and the Order was the last Hebrew novel I read, when it came out in, like, 2005? So reading this in Hebrew was an amazing, empowering experience -- knowing I can read a book in my mother language and still understand 99.5% of it.
I've read like two of these short stories in the translated English in the New Yorker, but the Hebrew reads differently -- it's more conversational, grittier, less grounded in whimsy -- but when the whimsy does come, it's shocking, and more satisfying. These stories are pearls of existentialism. I liked almost every single one.
There were a few short ones in the beginning that I really adored -- the "Suddenly a knock on the door" one, the one in which he encounters his lies, and the ones from the New Yorker were also really fun to read in the original tongue (the zipper, and the creative writing workshop one.) Keret just gets human relationships right -- and he plops his readers right in the middle of one, when things start to go awry, or have been going awry for a while -- and he shows us something happening that explains the characters he writes about and their relationships and really puts us in their world.
I've read like two of these short stories in the translated English in the New Yorker, but the Hebrew reads differently -- it's more conversational, grittier, less grounded in whimsy -- but when the whimsy does come, it's shocking, and more satisfying. These stories are pearls of existentialism. I liked almost every single one.
There were a few short ones in the beginning that I really adored -- the "Suddenly a knock on the door" one, the one in which he encounters his lies, and the ones from the New Yorker were also really fun to read in the original tongue (the zipper, and the creative writing workshop one.) Keret just gets human relationships right -- and he plops his readers right in the middle of one, when things start to go awry, or have been going awry for a while -- and he shows us something happening that explains the characters he writes about and their relationships and really puts us in their world.
cricca's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tophat8855's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes when you read a collection of short stories, there are a few that stick out to you and you know they’ll stay with you for a while. I don’t think any of these will stay with me.
alanffm's review against another edition
5.0
If Kurt Vonnegut and Haruki Murakami had a love child, it would be Etgar Keret. Suddenly, a knock on the door is some of the most amazing short fiction-postmodern literature I have ever read.
Sometimes Keret's stories are easy to swallow and sometimes they're not. Suicide and death seem to be recurring themes. Keret has a way of making the surreal seem plausible and the uninteresting irresistible. Ghosts, angels and talking body parts all make logical sense in these perfectly written tales.
Blind Willow Sleeping Woman, and Look at the Birdies have nothing on this book.
Seriously, I wish I had 100 copies to give out to everyone I know. 5/5
Sometimes Keret's stories are easy to swallow and sometimes they're not. Suicide and death seem to be recurring themes. Keret has a way of making the surreal seem plausible and the uninteresting irresistible. Ghosts, angels and talking body parts all make logical sense in these perfectly written tales.
Blind Willow Sleeping Woman, and Look at the Birdies have nothing on this book.
Seriously, I wish I had 100 copies to give out to everyone I know. 5/5
kinklekota's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like with those stories less would be more? They're so tiny and there's so many of them, I struggled to keep any in my mind. I recall very few. However, I was left with a general sense of poignancy and wryness permeating them all. They're very easy to read and well-written.
fireth's review against another edition
4.0
While reading this, I was making notes for future ice-breakers. And I wished many times that I can write Etgar (yes, I'm aware it's translated). If those are not signs that it's a great read, not sure what else will.
izumen's review against another edition
Книга за това "защо е толкова трудно да си човек и защо, по дяволите, все пак си струва усилието".
Преди около седмица Керет представи книгата си в България. Каза ми, че приличам на писател. <3
Преди около седмица Керет представи книгата си в България. Каза ми, че приличам на писател. <3
soy_sputnik's review against another edition
5.0
¡Brillante! ¡Brillante! Mi favorito fue el del Winnie Pooh <3
carinaspencer's review against another edition
4.0
I'm listening to the audio version - i.e. the one in which we get to hear Ira Glass say, "fuckin'". #Titillating.
dude_watchin_with_the_brontes's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading this for a book club, but then didn't end up going to the book club, which was probably for the best, because apparently everyone except the guy who suggested it were just tearing it apart, and maybe three days after Tree of Life wasn't the best time to hear a room full of gentiles having a hate-fest for a Jewish author. I read most of the book that weekend, and it's hard to separate my feelings about the stories themselves from the feelings of reading a book chock full of Jews, right after Tree of Life, when I work in a school that I'm one of only two Jews working in the whole district. It was emotional.
For the most part, I did really like the stories. I don't think his female characters are particularly strong, and his characters of color are pretty much non-existent. Other than that, though, I really liked the book a lot.
For the most part, I did really like the stories. I don't think his female characters are particularly strong, and his characters of color are pretty much non-existent. Other than that, though, I really liked the book a lot.