Stories from Israel, or, way beyond

Last summer I got as a present a book written by Etgar Keret. The book is titled ”The Nimrod flipout” and it is a collection of Keret's short stories. He is an Israeli writer, also called the voice of the new generation in his native country.

My very first acquitance with this author was in some late spring night on Skype when some of his stories were read to me. Yes, like a child listening to bedtime stories. I wouldn't have been able to make any sense of that book in Hebrew anyway, so that's why I guess I received my very own English version.

I haven't read fiction for a while but must admit Keret's imagination sure is something else. He goes straight to the point – but I guess that is of the essence when writing short stories. No ifs, no buts. The plots of his stories are something out of this world that I don't know how or where anyone gets that kind of ideas. This is not meant in a bad way, though. I'm actually jealous that someone has such a big pool of imagination and unheard ideas to write about. In fact, some of the stories are so original that I'm not sure if they were written by an author – or by someone who temporarily lost their marbles.

The stories aren't directly about Israel or Jews; some of them you could take, change names and put in any other country too. Some, however, do have references to the modern Israel and Israelites. E.g. flip outs/suicides in the army and someone getting killed by a suicide bomber are things that probably (unfortunately) happen there more likely than in Finland for instance. Or recognizing a body without a head to be a foreigner, as the man is not circumcised.

Don't get me wrong here, though. Dead bodies and suicides might make you think it is a sinister book that will push you on the verge of depression. Not at all! The stories won't make you reach for the tissues. They are just written in Keret's own humorous way.

The works of Etgar Keret have not been translated into Finnish but our local bookstores can provide you with a copy in English or Swedish. His publications are not limited to ”The Nimrod flipout”, so feel free to venture your favorite title. I look forward to reading them more in between my mission to read biographies. 

And let's see if Keret mentions Finland in any other stories than ”Bottle” (how surprising for Finland and bottles to be mentioned in the same context...:).

Amusing and edgy, and definitely takes you by surprise!