Reviews

The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God: and Other Stories by Etgar Keret

bitterbooksloudlaughs's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective medium-paced

3.0

gerado's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

3.0

kaitlinmcnabb's review against another edition

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4.0

I picked this up because I had watched "Wristcutters: A Love Story" a loved it, and learned it was based on Keret's story from this collection, "Kneller's Happy Campers" and the rest of the book and the crazy stories fell into place as well. Wonderful.

harl3quinade's review against another edition

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4.0

I received this book as a gift, specifically because it contains the short story "Kneller's Happy Campers" on which one of my favourite films (Wristcutters: A Love Story) is based. I had never previously picked it up because I had only seen disheartening reviews comparing the short story to the film.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Both the story in question (and many others, including the title story) are smart and sort of amusing, without being pretentious. They are some of the easiest-to-read translated works I have come across, and every piece I have read I have found incredibly enjoyable.

labiba_mahabub's review against another edition

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4.0

I love how absurd the book is

readrrck's review against another edition

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2.0

Maybe I just didn't "get" these stories, but for me, they weren't even remotely close to the hype surrounding them. True, "Kneller's Happy Campers" was quite entertaining, but aside from that, this was really just a collection of pointless stories, some of which I felt didn't even have an ending or a "conclusion."

Of course, to each his own, so I'm sure this book is loved by many. However, for me, I would recommend the film "Wristcutters: A Love Story" before ever recommending someone read these stories.

irene_alpinz's review against another edition

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4.0

Mi favorito fue el relato de la pizzería, los demás están un poco "meh".

shumska's review against another edition

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2.0

zbirka od dvadesetak kratkih priča (pri tom mislim stvarno kratke, 2-3 stranice) i jedna duža nazvana "pizzerija kamikaze" po kojoj je 2006. snimljen film "wristcutters: a love story" (u kojem manju ulogu glumi i tom waits), uglavnom ima vrlo dobre kritike i visoku ocjenu (nešto preko 4), ali nisam u njoj našla neko veće zadovoljstvo ili se jednostavno etgar keret i ja ne nalazimo na istoj valnoj duljini.

priče mu se uglavnom baziraju na čudnim i nemogućim -ili barem jako, jako malo vjerojatnim- događajima tipa:
-maternica njegove majke bila je tako divna da su ju naprosto morali -nakon što su ju odstranili iz majčine utrobe- izložiti u muzeju,
ili:
-anđeo koji šeće među ljudima i skriva svoja krila ispod kaputa,
ili:
-mjesto u uzbekistanu koji je otvor kroz koji dolaze ljudi iz pakla i ulaze u interakciju sa živima,
ili:
-patuljak maskiran u djevojčicu koji ga za vrijeme leta nagovara da poševi stjuardesu,
-wristcutters - priča o samoubojicama koji nastavljaju svoj život (ili, bolje rečeno, svoje postojanje) na nekom drugom mjestu gdje i dalje žive sasvim ljudske i stvarne živote...
itd...

prije mi sve to baca na nekakve eksperimentalne priče, pomalo nedorađene, sklepane u čudnim vizijama ili tripovima... djeluju kao zbrčkani snovi koje ne možeš uhvatiti ni za glavu ni za rep. mnoge od njih imaju dobru polazišnu ideju, ali nešto manje dobru izvedbu... kao da je recept u ovom slučaju "nabaci nonsens na nonsens pa nek si ljudi to pokušaju prebaciti u smislenu cjelinu i izvuku dublje značenje".
ja nisam otkrila dublje značenje.

sve ove priče pisane su s određenim humorom, ne čitaju se kao sasvim ozbiljno štivo, ali opet... to nije humor na koji padam. mislim... nije duhovito. više je, onako, wtf..

haleypages's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A Souvenir of Hell, The Flying Santinis, Pipes, Kneller’s Happy Campers and One Last Story and That’s It were my favorites. The narrative voice throughout reminded me very much of Chuck Palahnuik.

shiprim's review against another edition

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3.0

Eğlenceli ve yer yer absürt kısa öyküler var, kitapta; tabii bunlar yanında gerçekçi toplumsal olaylara da eğiliyorlar bol bol. Absürt olanlarda bile bu eğilim var. Çok da aman aman değil, aşırı etkilenmedim ama çoğunlukla hoştu.