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Асамтой
В третата книга на Етгар Керет на български става ясно как Луната може да се продаде срещу десет долара и известно количество добра карма; защо асансьорите влияят отрицателно на самоуважението на кучетата; кому са нужни искрите в очите; кълве ли дявол на шоколадов трюфел; как да направим добрия сценарий блестящ; какво си мислят на първа среща жените и какво – мъжете. Сред многото житейски прозрения и монументални заключения се намират също една теория за скуката като двигател на света плюс три железни правила за поддържане на любовната връзка. А в един разказ героят си поръчва “говоряща риба” от менюто и вместо да я изяде, провежда екзистенциална беседа с нея: „Ето това отличава писателя – казва Керет, – той не да ползва нещата, а предпочита да ги разговори.“
Асамтой (2002) съдържа 34 от най-добрите разговори с нещата на израелския писател, както и предговор, рисуван автограф и няколко препоръки наместо послеслов – специално за българското издание.
Ексцентрици и фантазьори, пройдохи и безделници се срещат на страниците на тази книга, за да разкрият пред внимателния читател мрежата от дълбоки пукнатини по крехката обвивка на планетата и в човешките отношения. В тези истории рибите говорят, а холандците мълчат. Фината гротеска с елементи на приказка и на черен хумор пасва идеално на тези чистосърдечни разкази за малките делнични случайности, които понякога човек дори не забелязва: именно те у Керет добиват вселенска значимост.
– Time Out Москва
“Изненадан ли? Естествено, че бях изненадан” – така започва третият сборник с разкази на писателя, сценарист и режисьор Етгар Керет. И докато героят се диви на нощните преображения на любимата си в тантурест космат хулиган, читателят остава изненадан от разговорния, непринуден език на автора. От пикантния черен хумор. От горчивата свежест на тези кратки текстове.
– ABC
Калейдоскоп от точни, вълнуващи и безкрайно комични случки... Много от разказите в тази книга са достатъчно кратки (и звънки), за да бъдат сметнати за поезия... Забавен и ревностен хроникьор на човешките слабости.
– Kirkus
Керет е циник, който не успява да се отърси от надеждата – най-достойният за доверие вид разказвач, който съществува. Същинският му предшественик не е Башевис Зингер, а Уди Алън... Тук Керет показва талант от епохата на Ани Хол: вади бисер след бисер.
– The Washington Post Book World
Асамтой (2002) съдържа 34 от най-добрите разговори с нещата на израелския писател, както и предговор, рисуван автограф и няколко препоръки наместо послеслов – специално за българското издание.
Ексцентрици и фантазьори, пройдохи и безделници се срещат на страниците на тази книга, за да разкрият пред внимателния читател мрежата от дълбоки пукнатини по крехката обвивка на планетата и в човешките отношения. В тези истории рибите говорят, а холандците мълчат. Фината гротеска с елементи на приказка и на черен хумор пасва идеално на тези чистосърдечни разкази за малките делнични случайности, които понякога човек дори не забелязва: именно те у Керет добиват вселенска значимост.
– Time Out Москва
“Изненадан ли? Естествено, че бях изненадан” – така започва третият сборник с разкази на писателя, сценарист и режисьор Етгар Керет. И докато героят се диви на нощните преображения на любимата си в тантурест космат хулиган, читателят остава изненадан от разговорния, непринуден език на автора. От пикантния черен хумор. От горчивата свежест на тези кратки текстове.
– ABC
Калейдоскоп от точни, вълнуващи и безкрайно комични случки... Много от разказите в тази книга са достатъчно кратки (и звънки), за да бъдат сметнати за поезия... Забавен и ревностен хроникьор на човешките слабости.
– Kirkus
Керет е циник, който не успява да се отърси от надеждата – най-достойният за доверие вид разказвач, който съществува. Същинският му предшественик не е Башевис Зингер, а Уди Алън... Тук Керет показва талант от епохата на Ани Хол: вади бисер след бисер.
– The Washington Post Book World
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
181 people are currently reading
3082 people want to read
About the author
Etgar Keret
137 books2,441 followersBorn in Ramat Gan in 1967, Etgar Keret is a leading voice in Israeli literature and film. His books have been published in over four dozen languages and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, Le Monde and The New Yorker, among others. His awards include the Cannes Film Festival's "Caméra d'Or" (2007), the Charles Bronfman Prize (2016) and the prestigious Sapir Prize (2018). Over a hundred short films and several feature films have been based on his stories. Keret teaches creative writing at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Since 2021, he has been publishing the weekly newsletter "Alphabet Soup" on Substack.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 532 reviews
January 29, 2024
I am finally done with reviewing the stories from Found in Translation anthology.
Etgar Keret is an Israeli writer quite well known for his short stories and memoir.
"Stories that are short, strange, funny, deceptively casual in tone and affect, stories that sound like a joke but aren't" (Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi ). The quote pretty much summarises The Nimrod Flipout, the title story and the only one I've read from this collection. If you take away the laughs, it is story about post traumatic stress, if I remember well, ver well written.
Etgar Keret is an Israeli writer quite well known for his short stories and memoir.
"Stories that are short, strange, funny, deceptively casual in tone and affect, stories that sound like a joke but aren't" (Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi ). The quote pretty much summarises The Nimrod Flipout, the title story and the only one I've read from this collection. If you take away the laughs, it is story about post traumatic stress, if I remember well, ver well written.
November 5, 2022
“Un pensiero a forma di racconto”, il ventiduesimo, è di un’intensità, di una particolarità, di una genialità incredibili; non rimanevo così colpita da una lettura da molto tempo. L’intero libro meriterebbe solo per quello.
January 11, 2018
I enjoyed Etgar Keret’s short story collection, Suddenly, A Knock on the Door, so it was disappointing to find out The Nimrod Flip-Out isn’t nearly as good.
I really like Keret’s casual use of magical realism in many of his stories. My favourite one here was Fatso where a man discovers his girlfriend literally turns into a fat slob of a man at night before turning back into the woman he loves by morning! Very amusing, imaginative stuff.
Unfortunately that’s basically the only story that was any good – and, to make it worse, Fatso is the first story of the collection so it’s all downhill from the start! That’s not to say all the stories are a bust as there are scenes dotted throughout that were interesting. The unkillable dog from Shooting Tuvia, the parents who shrank as their son grew in Pride and Joy and the sad cabbie in The Tits of An Eighteen-Year-Old all caught my attention.
On the whole though nearly all the stories in The Nimrod Flip-Out are forgettable and it’s a largely dull reading experience. Keret’s writing is as skilful as ever but his stories here aren’t as entertaining as I’d hoped. I recommend checking out Suddenly, A Knock on the Door instead to see what this writer can really do.
I really like Keret’s casual use of magical realism in many of his stories. My favourite one here was Fatso where a man discovers his girlfriend literally turns into a fat slob of a man at night before turning back into the woman he loves by morning! Very amusing, imaginative stuff.
Unfortunately that’s basically the only story that was any good – and, to make it worse, Fatso is the first story of the collection so it’s all downhill from the start! That’s not to say all the stories are a bust as there are scenes dotted throughout that were interesting. The unkillable dog from Shooting Tuvia, the parents who shrank as their son grew in Pride and Joy and the sad cabbie in The Tits of An Eighteen-Year-Old all caught my attention.
On the whole though nearly all the stories in The Nimrod Flip-Out are forgettable and it’s a largely dull reading experience. Keret’s writing is as skilful as ever but his stories here aren’t as entertaining as I’d hoped. I recommend checking out Suddenly, A Knock on the Door instead to see what this writer can really do.
July 28, 2013
after reading: Right, here's the thing about short stories: I just don't like them. And here's why: short stories (like long stories) are either good –- and you wonder why the writer didn't just keep writing because now you are really interested in these characters/this scenario/the voice/whatever –- or they're not good, and you wonder why you wasted your time.
I definitely put Etgar in the former category. Many of these stories are really good! Super good! But this is the thing: if Etgar can write a hundred tiny stories about love and sex and infidelity and dogs and the army and vague international business dealings and Israel and taxis and death and people who are confused and sad and having lots of sex and betrayed and betraying and otherwise just fucked up -- if Etgar can write a million of these tiny stories, why can't he instead (or also) write one big story? Or a few medium-sized stories? Because all through this book, just when I was starting to sink my teeth in, falling backward into a cool new tale, really giving myself over to a new story-world -- it was over. And then I'd have to get myself all re-worked back in, settling down into another cool and interesting situation with fairly similar characters and more or less the same emotional content, and by the time I'd gotten into that one, well, the rest doesn't need to be said again.
mid-read: This isn't the book I'm supposed to be reading next, but I just sorta grabbed it on my way out the door to smoke, and noticed that the stories are super short (about cigarette-length, as it happens), and so I read "Glittery Eyes" (because who can resist a title like that?) and jeez. It was really sad! And really really affecting, especially for just a four-page-long little wisp of a story.
Looks like me and Etgar are going to get along swimmingly.
before reading: When all the cool kids are talking about the same weird book with the same bizarre title and mildly disturbing cover, a girl has to pay attention.
I definitely put Etgar in the former category. Many of these stories are really good! Super good! But this is the thing: if Etgar can write a hundred tiny stories about love and sex and infidelity and dogs and the army and vague international business dealings and Israel and taxis and death and people who are confused and sad and having lots of sex and betrayed and betraying and otherwise just fucked up -- if Etgar can write a million of these tiny stories, why can't he instead (or also) write one big story? Or a few medium-sized stories? Because all through this book, just when I was starting to sink my teeth in, falling backward into a cool new tale, really giving myself over to a new story-world -- it was over. And then I'd have to get myself all re-worked back in, settling down into another cool and interesting situation with fairly similar characters and more or less the same emotional content, and by the time I'd gotten into that one, well, the rest doesn't need to be said again.
mid-read: This isn't the book I'm supposed to be reading next, but I just sorta grabbed it on my way out the door to smoke, and noticed that the stories are super short (about cigarette-length, as it happens), and so I read "Glittery Eyes" (because who can resist a title like that?) and jeez. It was really sad! And really really affecting, especially for just a four-page-long little wisp of a story.
Looks like me and Etgar are going to get along swimmingly.
before reading: When all the cool kids are talking about the same weird book with the same bizarre title and mildly disturbing cover, a girl has to pay attention.
August 25, 2015
This is most definitely a man's book. The simplicity of emotion, the gentle confusion, the way things that make no sense somehow make absolute sense. Keret is a gentle man. His emotions, friendship, love, family, life, all effortless. His writing is effortless. It’s witty and calm, poignant but simple, pleasurable without being overwhelming. The kind of beautiful I imagine men feel when they feel the word “beautiful”.
Fear: I felt the fear running through my body, from the hard part of my brain to the soft part of my bones.
Jealousy: The point was somewhere else altogether -- three years ago, in Mombasa [...] Something about how, between every two people in the world, there's a kiss. [...] That isn't the point at all. Neither is that Dutch guy -- I have nothing to be jealous of there. He's probably dead already from an overdose or else he's lying drunk on some sidewalk in Amsterdam, or he went and got a master's degree in something, which sounds even worse. In any case, it's not about him at all, it's that time in Mombasa. For three months a person sits and looks at you, imagining a kiss.
Trust: ”It’s your dog,” Neeva added after a short silence. “He ran away.” When a dog takes a thin little saw and saws through the bars on a bathroom window, then shimmies down some tied-together sheets, you can say, "The dog ran away." But when you're walking down the street with him and he's not on a leash, and an hour later you realize he's nowhere to be seen, then someone clearly fucked up.
Grief: The husband asked to identify his wife by her foot. Most people identify their loved ones by their face. But he asked to identify her by her foot, because he thought that if he saw her dead face, the sight would haunt him [...] He had loved her and he knew her so well that he could identify her by each and every part of her body, and somehow her foot seemed the most remote, neutral, far removed.
Love: He pressed up against her and said she had such a nice heart and he loved it. She cried like a princess and said she wanted him to love her, all of her, not just her organs. Their eyes were closing now, and the sea breeze cooled his face as he fell asleep beside her, curled into himself like a child, like a baby.
Quiet: “Quiet is serenity, it’s a bubble bath, it’s grass growing, it’s what happens in your refrigerator after you close the door and the little light goes out. In short, quiet is nothingness. And we’ll have more than enough nothingness eventually, definitely, once we die.”
Sadness: “He let go of his tears the way a hot-air balloon jettisons another extra-heavy bag of sand, and as they lay there in each other’s arms, he felt as though if only he’d let go of her, he’d start floating up toward the ceiling.”
Apathy: Buddha arrived to visit him, smiling and chubby as always, with the tip of a familiar scar showing on the underside of his potbelly, and Buddha even brought him a present – a wicker basket full of dandelions gone to seed. He blew on one of the dandelions, and the whole world disappeared.
These stories tell themselves. They are ripe with feeling. They don't need to shout meaning or purpose; they are plain and simple and good. Beautiful. These are men's stories. They smell of sweet amber, sandalwood, and sunshine. With only the tiniest hint of patchouli.
Fear: I felt the fear running through my body, from the hard part of my brain to the soft part of my bones.
Jealousy: The point was somewhere else altogether -- three years ago, in Mombasa [...] Something about how, between every two people in the world, there's a kiss. [...] That isn't the point at all. Neither is that Dutch guy -- I have nothing to be jealous of there. He's probably dead already from an overdose or else he's lying drunk on some sidewalk in Amsterdam, or he went and got a master's degree in something, which sounds even worse. In any case, it's not about him at all, it's that time in Mombasa. For three months a person sits and looks at you, imagining a kiss.
Trust: ”It’s your dog,” Neeva added after a short silence. “He ran away.” When a dog takes a thin little saw and saws through the bars on a bathroom window, then shimmies down some tied-together sheets, you can say, "The dog ran away." But when you're walking down the street with him and he's not on a leash, and an hour later you realize he's nowhere to be seen, then someone clearly fucked up.
Grief: The husband asked to identify his wife by her foot. Most people identify their loved ones by their face. But he asked to identify her by her foot, because he thought that if he saw her dead face, the sight would haunt him [...] He had loved her and he knew her so well that he could identify her by each and every part of her body, and somehow her foot seemed the most remote, neutral, far removed.
Love: He pressed up against her and said she had such a nice heart and he loved it. She cried like a princess and said she wanted him to love her, all of her, not just her organs. Their eyes were closing now, and the sea breeze cooled his face as he fell asleep beside her, curled into himself like a child, like a baby.
Quiet: “Quiet is serenity, it’s a bubble bath, it’s grass growing, it’s what happens in your refrigerator after you close the door and the little light goes out. In short, quiet is nothingness. And we’ll have more than enough nothingness eventually, definitely, once we die.”
Sadness: “He let go of his tears the way a hot-air balloon jettisons another extra-heavy bag of sand, and as they lay there in each other’s arms, he felt as though if only he’d let go of her, he’d start floating up toward the ceiling.”
Apathy: Buddha arrived to visit him, smiling and chubby as always, with the tip of a familiar scar showing on the underside of his potbelly, and Buddha even brought him a present – a wicker basket full of dandelions gone to seed. He blew on one of the dandelions, and the whole world disappeared.
These stories tell themselves. They are ripe with feeling. They don't need to shout meaning or purpose; they are plain and simple and good. Beautiful. These are men's stories. They smell of sweet amber, sandalwood, and sunshine. With only the tiniest hint of patchouli.
September 28, 2017
Енциклопедия на преживяванията. Рядко срещан микс от смешно и тъжно. Гласовете сякаш са шегаджийски, нахакани, обаче… Всичко най-сериозно е в сборника. Мисли, които човек има само наум. От тези неща, които се случват, но невинаги им се обръща внимание. Точно такива невидими детайли в отношения, характери и случки харесвам. Анотацията ми звучеше като за прекалено абстрактна книга и се чудех чак такава оригиналност дали е като за мен. Точно като за мен се оказа!
Исках да отбележа кои разкази са ми харесали най-много. Започнах да изброявам – почти всички (поне 90%). Тогава започнах да търся тези, до които съм сложила най-много удивителни:
„Шишко“, „Наша гордост“, „Тувия се връща“, „Пони“, „Твоят човек“, „Искрящи очи“, „Бутилка“, „Как да направим добрия сценарий блестящ“, „Говорящата риба“ ,“ Навън и гола“, „Мисъл под формата на разказ“, „Рабин умря“, „Железни правила“,“Каква красива двойка“!, „Ъгъл“, „Един последен разказ и това е…“!!, „Асамтой“!!!…
Много любовни двойки (реални и въображаеми), чести раздели, хора „от улицата“, предимно млади. Искащи нещо, не това, което имат… Пълно е с таксиджии –дрънкачи. И въпреки че почти всеки цитат ще звучи неразбираемо извън съответния разказ, ето любимите ми изречения:
„… човек като тебе, който през повечето време почти не знае какво иска.“
„Бях убеден, че приятелството ни не е заради храната, а Тувия наистина си ме харесва.“
„…между всеки двама на света съществува целувка.“
„Е, нищо де, ще се намери друга.“
„Бени веднъж ми каза, че съм бил човек без амбиции, за което ми завиждал.“
„Защото е по-приятно и забавно, когато хората са добри един с друг – опитвам се да пробудя в него някаква човещина, нали уж жителите на малките градове били по-мили.“
„Добра си беше рибата“.
„Аз си умирах да имам приятелка, която да изглежда дори наполовина толкова добре, колкото Анат, и от време на време да ми дава да я докосвам, ако ще само през дрехите.“
„… мисля да взема колелото си и да отида до аптеката да погледам Орит.“
„Къде ще звъня и ще ставам за резил сега – и като не чу отговор от другата страна, продължи: – Ако искаш да те вземат за малоумна, ти звънни.“
„Останалото време употребих, за да наместя дрехите и мислите си.“
„Именно добричките създават главоболия. С гадняри никога не бе имал проблеми. […] Но добричките, тези, които говорят с медени гласчета и раздават трюфели и лимонади – тях какво да ги правиш?“
Мислех, че като са много на брой разказите, може към края да ми омръзне. И въпреки че изброих като „топ“ много от първите разкази, от стр. 109 за мен беше още по-голямо засилване. Мисля, че не трябва да се четат „като семки“. Може и наведнъж, но аз съм доволна, че направих така – на 3-4 пъти. Да ги вдишвам бавно.
„Рабин умря“ – каква двупосочна сила има този разказ! Зарадвах се да чуя нещо от Керет по любимите местни теми на Амос Оз.
„Ъгъл“ как да не ми напомни на семейство Глас (Селинджър): „… винаги, една десета от секундата преди да стреля, да спира да мисли за удара…“
„Един последен разказ и това е…“ Само стр. 126 прочетох няколко пъти. Произведения с въпросния герой са писани доста, но мен това ме изпълни „отвсякъде“.
„- Имаш ли идея какво ще правиш оттук нататък? – попита загрижено от прага.
- Ами не. Сигурно ще ходя по-често на плаж, ще се виждам с приятели и разни такива. А ти?“
„Асамтой“. Толкова личен! Дълга история…
И така цяла нощ си сънувах Асамтойчо и Буда-та му и мислено (с усилия дори насън) търсех как в Goodreads звездите се разтеглят от 5 на 6-7… Опъвах, опъвах и героите от книгата ми помагаха.
Не мога да пропусна „братството“ между преводачката и автора, като това впечатление изобщо не произтича само от следната синонимна група в един разказ: нафиркан, къркач, пияндур, удрят по едно, натаралянкани, се е наквасил. Пиянството е едно от двете неща, по отношение на които съм фанатична (просто татко пукаше ежедневно и…). Но това езиково богатство тук ме изкефи. Изобщо стилът си е такъв („народен ларж“ – защото героите са такива) и Милена го е предала като в редките случаи, за които ми се струва: Все едно книгата е писана на български език. (Сериозно ли бе! изпаднала ( а не паднала); дали клъвна; Маце, вижда ти се котето; Ей, шемет; Ронче, душко, как сме, как сме? Ходи се гръмни! Ти май се стегна, а? Леле, глей, глей…)
Мисля, че безспорно във връзка с книгата снощи листенцата на бадема под терасата ми се усмихваха и ми махаха весело (имам свидетели). Дори се хилеха звънко на глас. Днес бадемът е спокоен и тих, но никога няма да забравя онази бадемово-книжна веселба.
Вземам си един компютър Дедабях® и продължавам с другите книги на Керет след време!
Исках да отбележа кои разкази са ми харесали най-много. Започнах да изброявам – почти всички (поне 90%). Тогава започнах да търся тези, до които съм сложила най-много удивителни:
„Шишко“, „Наша гордост“, „Тувия се връща“, „Пони“, „Твоят човек“, „Искрящи очи“, „Бутилка“, „Как да направим добрия сценарий блестящ“, „Говорящата риба“ ,“ Навън и гола“, „Мисъл под формата на разказ“, „Рабин умря“, „Железни правила“,“Каква красива двойка“!, „Ъгъл“, „Един последен разказ и това е…“!!, „Асамтой“!!!…
Много любовни двойки (реални и въображаеми), чести раздели, хора „от улицата“, предимно млади. Искащи нещо, не това, което имат… Пълно е с таксиджии –дрънкачи. И въпреки че почти всеки цитат ще звучи неразбираемо извън съответния разказ, ето любимите ми изречения:
„… човек като тебе, който през повечето време почти не знае какво иска.“
„Бях убеден, че приятелството ни не е заради храната, а Тувия наистина си ме харесва.“
„…между всеки двама на света съществува целувка.“
„Е, нищо де, ще се намери друга.“
„Бени веднъж ми каза, че съм бил човек без амбиции, за което ми завиждал.“
„Защото е по-приятно и забавно, когато хората са добри един с друг – опитвам се да пробудя в него някаква човещина, нали уж жителите на малките градове били по-мили.“
„Добра си беше рибата“.
„Аз си умирах да имам приятелка, която да изглежда дори наполовина толкова добре, колкото Анат, и от време на време да ми дава да я докосвам, ако ще само през дрехите.“
„… мисля да взема колелото си и да отида до аптеката да погледам Орит.“
„Къде ще звъня и ще ставам за резил сега – и като не чу отговор от другата страна, продължи: – Ако искаш да те вземат за малоумна, ти звънни.“
„Останалото време употребих, за да наместя дрехите и мислите си.“
„Именно добричките създават главоболия. С гадняри никога не бе имал проблеми. […] Но добричките, тези, които говорят с медени гласчета и раздават трюфели и лимонади – тях какво да ги правиш?“
Мислех, че като са много на брой разказите, може към края да ми омръзне. И въпреки че изброих като „топ“ много от първите разкази, от стр. 109 за мен беше още по-голямо засилване. Мисля, че не трябва да се четат „като семки“. Може и наведнъж, но аз съм доволна, че направих така – на 3-4 пъти. Да ги вдишвам бавно.
„Рабин умря“ – каква двупосочна сила има този разказ! Зарадвах се да чуя нещо от Керет по любимите местни теми на Амос Оз.
„Ъгъл“ как да не ми напомни на семейство Глас (Селинджър): „… винаги, една десета от секундата преди да стреля, да спира да мисли за удара…“
„Един последен разказ и това е…“ Само стр. 126 прочетох няколко пъти. Произведения с въпросния герой са писани доста, но мен това ме изпълни „отвсякъде“.
„- Имаш ли идея какво ще правиш оттук нататък? – попита загрижено от прага.
- Ами не. Сигурно ще ходя по-често на плаж, ще се виждам с приятели и разни такива. А ти?“
„Асамтой“. Толкова личен! Дълга история…
И така цяла нощ си сънувах Асамтойчо и Буда-та му и мислено (с усилия дори насън) търсех как в Goodreads звездите се разтеглят от 5 на 6-7… Опъвах, опъвах и героите от книгата ми помагаха.
Не мога да пропусна „братството“ между преводачката и автора, като това впечатление изобщо не произтича само от следната синонимна група в един разказ: нафиркан, къркач, пияндур, удрят по едно, натаралянкани, се е наквасил. Пиянството е едно от двете неща, по отношение на които съм фанатична (просто татко пукаше ежедневно и…). Но това езиково богатство тук ме изкефи. Изобщо стилът си е такъв („народен ларж“ – защото героите са такива) и Милена го е предала като в редките случаи, за които ми се струва: Все едно книгата е писана на български език. (Сериозно ли бе! изпаднала ( а не паднала); дали клъвна; Маце, вижда ти се котето; Ей, шемет; Ронче, душко, как сме, как сме? Ходи се гръмни! Ти май се стегна, а? Леле, глей, глей…)
Мисля, че безспорно във връзка с книгата снощи листенцата на бадема под терасата ми се усмихваха и ми махаха весело (имам свидетели). Дори се хилеха звънко на глас. Днес бадемът е спокоен и тих, но никога няма да забравя онази бадемово-книжна веселба.
Вземам си един компютър Дедабях® и продължавам с другите книги на Керет след време!
June 21, 2016
If you've been friends with me on Goodreads for long enough, you know that I obsess over the sheer hilarity and flippant style of Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Despite suffering from what may be the most bizarre cover art in the history of literature (please challenge me on this), The Nimrod Flipout is an excellent short story collection full of reality-bending romps.
The title story will be familiar to experienced Keret readers: a bunch of young-ish guys stuck in the doldrums of life, and you don't expect much at the start. But as the story progresses and more is revealed, the makings of a superb short story appear. Few writers can continually hold my attention hostage for such prolonged periods of time, but Keret's zany plots, his questionable characters, and devastating critiques of morality always draw me in. His tone and irreverence are only matched by George Saunders and Kurt Vonnegut.
Short story collections are often a jumbled mess, with some stories lacking inspiration and others wowing the reader, but for once the back cover doesn't lie; Keret really does pack more into a paragraph than many writers do in an entire book. I know that for years to come, I'll continue to pick up Keret's stories and laugh my way through. If you need a pick-me-up, pick Keret up.
Favorite stories:
The Nimrod Flipout: for its dark humor
Your Man: for its exploration of the young male condition
Pride and Joy: for its praise of dutifulness
Glittery Eyes: for its hypocrisy
For Only $9.88 (Inc. Tax and Postage): for its deconstruction of modern "self-help" books (This is favorite story in the collection and one of my favorite Keret stories.)
My Girlfriend's Naked: for its quasi-feminism
Ironclad Rules: for its squirm-inducing ending
The title story will be familiar to experienced Keret readers: a bunch of young-ish guys stuck in the doldrums of life, and you don't expect much at the start. But as the story progresses and more is revealed, the makings of a superb short story appear. Few writers can continually hold my attention hostage for such prolonged periods of time, but Keret's zany plots, his questionable characters, and devastating critiques of morality always draw me in. His tone and irreverence are only matched by George Saunders and Kurt Vonnegut.
Short story collections are often a jumbled mess, with some stories lacking inspiration and others wowing the reader, but for once the back cover doesn't lie; Keret really does pack more into a paragraph than many writers do in an entire book. I know that for years to come, I'll continue to pick up Keret's stories and laugh my way through. If you need a pick-me-up, pick Keret up.
Favorite stories:
The Nimrod Flipout: for its dark humor
Your Man: for its exploration of the young male condition
Pride and Joy: for its praise of dutifulness
Glittery Eyes: for its hypocrisy
For Only $9.88 (Inc. Tax and Postage): for its deconstruction of modern "self-help" books (This is favorite story in the collection and one of my favorite Keret stories.)
My Girlfriend's Naked: for its quasi-feminism
Ironclad Rules: for its squirm-inducing ending
April 27, 2023
Kitabı sahaftan aldım. Sırada bekleyen öyle güzel eserler var ki, kolilerden birine ya da kitaplığa koyduğum an bir daha asla sıra gelmeyeceğini biliyordum. O yüzden okuyup öyle kaldırmak istedim. İyi de oldu.
Yazar eğlenceli bir tarza sahip. Çok sayıda öykü barındırıyor kitap içinde ve Etgar Keret'in zihni cidden trajikomik şeyler yazmak için çok müsait.
Öykülerinde İsrail'de yaşamdan da izler barındırıyor. Mesela benim en çok dikkatimi, kadın erkek fark etmeksizin tüm toplumun hayatına büyük etki eden, her şeye sirayet eden askerlik olgusu çekti. Onlarda hem uzun süreli hem zorunlu hem de cinsiyete bağlı değil askerlik diye biliyorum.
İlginç bir kitaptı. Başka kitabını okur muyum, neden olmasın.
Yazar eğlenceli bir tarza sahip. Çok sayıda öykü barındırıyor kitap içinde ve Etgar Keret'in zihni cidden trajikomik şeyler yazmak için çok müsait.
Öykülerinde İsrail'de yaşamdan da izler barındırıyor. Mesela benim en çok dikkatimi, kadın erkek fark etmeksizin tüm toplumun hayatına büyük etki eden, her şeye sirayet eden askerlik olgusu çekti. Onlarda hem uzun süreli hem zorunlu hem de cinsiyete bağlı değil askerlik diye biliyorum.
İlginç bir kitaptı. Başka kitabını okur muyum, neden olmasın.
March 2, 2013
Не знам какво мога да напиша за Керет,освен че съм безвъзвратно влюбена в начина,по който разказва.
June 10, 2021
Разказите на Керет са като фойерверки - ярки, цветни и красиви. Невероятно е как такъв безкраен брой фантастични и абсурдно комични истории могат да изскочат от главата на един единствен човек!
December 25, 2017
Keby bola táto kniha frajer, s ktorým sa rozchádzam, poviem čosi ako “prepáč, je to mnou, nie tebou”- je kompletne ok, niektoré poviedky viac super a niektoré menej, veľakrát prekvapivé a skoro vždy vtipné a briskné.
Ale- keď sa vrátime k analógii s rozchodom- práve tá poviedková nezáväznosť mi tentokrát nesadla. Krátkymi formami som obklopená všade (diky, internet!), v knihách tak v ostatnej dobe inklinujem k veľkým románom. Vravím, je to mnou, nie Keretom!
Ale- keď sa vrátime k analógii s rozchodom- práve tá poviedková nezáväznosť mi tentokrát nesadla. Krátkymi formami som obklopená všade (diky, internet!), v knihách tak v ostatnej dobe inklinujem k veľkým románom. Vravím, je to mnou, nie Keretom!
February 19, 2008
Maybe this just got too built up for me or something, but... I get it, the tone sounds flippant but it really isn't. That gets kind of samey. Shrug.
September 12, 2025
I've wanted to read this short (167 pp.) collection of short stories by one of Israel's "leading voices of literature" since June 17, 2016 when I put it on my GR "to read" list. Twice, since then, I've reserved it at the New York Public Library and twice it has inexplicably disappeared.
I wanted to read it so much that recently I was thinking about it while roasting chard, sweet potatoes, and a veggie dog with a heavy sprinkling of rosemary, ginger, and umami on the stovetop. I do this by cutting up the vegetables and putting them in a nonstick pan that I then cover with the pot part of a stovetop popcorn popper so it looks like a pan wearing a large top hat. I leave it there until I remember that I'm cooking because I smell soft sweet potatoes. I guess my wish infected my cooking, because when the whole apartment smelled of root vegetables and veggie dog and I finally lifted off the top, inside, instead of chard and spiced sweet potatoes, was a book of spicy short stories . . . which I ate very quickly because they were so tasty.
Okay, that didn't happen, but that's the kind of story that Etgar Keret writes in this incredibly entertaining collection. Not all of them have a point, but they are so tasty, I was happy to gobble them down.
I wanted to read it so much that recently I was thinking about it while roasting chard, sweet potatoes, and a veggie dog with a heavy sprinkling of rosemary, ginger, and umami on the stovetop. I do this by cutting up the vegetables and putting them in a nonstick pan that I then cover with the pot part of a stovetop popcorn popper so it looks like a pan wearing a large top hat. I leave it there until I remember that I'm cooking because I smell soft sweet potatoes. I guess my wish infected my cooking, because when the whole apartment smelled of root vegetables and veggie dog and I finally lifted off the top, inside, instead of chard and spiced sweet potatoes, was a book of spicy short stories . . . which I ate very quickly because they were so tasty.
Okay, that didn't happen, but that's the kind of story that Etgar Keret writes in this incredibly entertaining collection. Not all of them have a point, but they are so tasty, I was happy to gobble them down.
December 21, 2020
"8% z niczego" należy zdecydowanie do tej lepszej połowy wydanych w Polsce zbiorów Kereta. Opowiadania są bardzo równe, czuć w nich niepowtarzalny, błyskotliwy styl autora, który tym razem po żadnym z opowiadań nie pozostawia w czytelniku wrażenia pretensjonalności.
October 12, 2017
Много красиви истори - случки и герои разпиляни из въображението на Керет. Всеки разказ си е един миниатюрен роман. В рамките на 1-2-3 страници Етгар Керет успява всеки път да създаде цял завършен свят изпъстрен с множество герои и след това да го унищожи на финала.
Имайки това предвид обаче, чететнето ми не мина без проблем. Първата ми реакция, поддържана до към средата на книгата, беше на досада. Един вид - този вместо да отиде на психоаналитик ни пробутва несвързаните си фантазии, които започват от никъде и отиват в тотално различна посока. Това което ми помогна да вляза в историите е едно интервю на Керет, в което разказва как с писането си се опитва да хуманизира реалността. Реално се получава - историите за смърт, убийства, самоубийства, раздели, изневяра, разочарование, насилие от гетото и т.н. минават много по-леко през разказите му, дори някак тъжно-смешно-иронично. Оказва се, че разказите му са доста популярни сред израелските затворници. Според Керет това се дължи на бързата загуба на концентрация, от която страдат повечето затворници - разказите му са много крати. Според мен обаче причината би била по-скоро в умението му да хуманизира и омекоти падането при всяка история.
Имайки това предвид обаче, чететнето ми не мина без проблем. Първата ми реакция, поддържана до към средата на книгата, беше на досада. Един вид - този вместо да отиде на психоаналитик ни пробутва несвързаните си фантазии, които започват от никъде и отиват в тотално различна посока. Това което ми помогна да вляза в историите е едно интервю на Керет, в което разказва как с писането си се опитва да хуманизира реалността. Реално се получава - историите за смърт, убийства, самоубийства, раздели, изневяра, разочарование, насилие от гетото и т.н. минават много по-леко през разказите му, дори някак тъжно-смешно-иронично. Оказва се, че разказите му са доста популярни сред израелските затворници. Според Керет това се дължи на бързата загуба на концентрация, от която страдат повечето затворници - разказите му са много крати. Според мен обаче причината би била по-скоро в умението му да хуманизира и омекоти падането при всяка история.
December 4, 2015
Ένας συγγραφέας που γνώρισα μέσω μιας φίλης μου που τον αγαπά πολύ και πλέον συμμερίζομαι την άποψή της στο έπακρο. Ο Έτγκαρ Κέρετ στη συλλογή ιστοριών Ο Εκείνος (θεωρώ την τιτλοφόρηση της ελληνικής έκδοσης καλύτερη από την αγγλική καθώς η εν λόγω ιστορία είναι και η μεγαλύτερη και η σημαντικότερη στο βιβλίο) μας γνωρίζει πολλούς και ετερόκλητους χαρακτήρες, τον Νιμρόντ που τρελαίνει τους φίλους του ακόμα και μετά το θάνατο του, ένα ψάρι που μιλά, ένα πόνι που γεννιέται από μια γυναίκα και πολλούς άλλους μεσά από μια γκάμα 30 διηγημάτων που καλύπτουν 200 σελίδες. Όλα γραμμένα διαφορετικά και με έναν τρόπο γραφής βγαλμένο από τα παραμύθια ο Κέρετ μεταδίδει πολύ όμορφα συναισθήματα μέσω των "κοφτερών" διηγημάτων του για τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις και τον άνθρωπο μα πάνω από όλα είναι ένας πολύ καλός παραμυθάς που φτιάχνει ιστορίες τρελές απαλλαγμένος από κάθε λογοτεχνική προκατάληψη.
December 24, 2015
Не бил там въпросът. Не бил и в онзи холандец, нямало никакъв повод за ревност. Той и без това сигурно вече бил пукнал от свръхдоза или се въргалял мъртвопиян по някой амстердамски тротоар, или, още по-лошо, бил взел магистърска степен по нещо си.
February 28, 2021
Първата ми среща с Керет. Дебнахме се едно 7-8 години. Нямам обяснение защо съм го пренебрегвала толкова време. Прекрасни разкази! Забавни, изненадващи, смущаващи, събуждащи въображението. И в същото време ти бръкват в душата.
Прочетена по време на READATHON vol. 2.
Прочетена по време на READATHON vol. 2.
September 16, 2023
Warto było nie zrażać się po pierwszych opowiadaniach Kereta, bowiem w następnych ujawnia w pełnej krasie językową zręczność, niekiedy brawurę, absurd, ale też niezwykłą czułość.
8% z niczego to niezwykle szczera, autentyczna, bez nuty pretensjonalności groteska podszyta głębokim smutkiem, która mimo to pozwala się uśmiechnąć, a nawet wzruszyć
8% z niczego to niezwykle szczera, autentyczna, bez nuty pretensjonalności groteska podszyta głębokim smutkiem, która mimo to pozwala się uśmiechnąć, a nawet wzruszyć
August 10, 2011
This is an utterly fantastic collection. I've long been meaning to read some Keret and am so glad that I've finally gotten here. He's capable of doing one of the most challenging things in writing with surprising ease and agility: humor. And not just a smile, but pure laughter, rising on accident, despite suppression and embarrassment at being in public with a bus full of people who don't speak your language.
He gets there through situations. It's not a single sentence that makes you laugh, not a one liner kind of thing, but these absurd circumstances and situations that reach this point where nothing can hold back the laughter, especially not the sadness of the characters. And this, I think, is what makes his writing so impressive. He's not the kind of writer who blows you away with a sublime sentence or even with a singular moment of shocking insight, but he knocks you over laughing, always on the razor, tightroping between tragedy and comedy.
While these are certainly funny stories, there's so much more to them than funny moments. And though he never tries to capture a life in a single sentence the way so many others do, he reflects life in all its absurd surreality with almost disgusting ease and insight.
I believe that all writers have something small inside them that's the impetus behind the art. It may be a scene or a sentence or a moment, but it's there, I think, always, the heart beating in the floor. The humor here, to me, is not a mask, but a lens. It's the prism through which Keret comes to understand the world, in all its bizarreness. Though the stories are rather short, the characters are the type that tumble off the page, sit beside you when you forget to look.
And there's a deep sadness in all these stories, characters on the brink of existential crises, imbued with ennui, lost, aimless. These characters are drifters without the drift, locked in stasis. It is this unbearable lightness of being, to steal a phrase and misappropriate it, that's at the heart of these stories, and why the humor is so essential. These characters are not choosing to keep going, to keep walking despite the pain and the suffering, but just keep going because it seems just as hard to stop, maybe even harder. They accept things, not through rationalisation or through choice, but simply because this new thing is there and to change it is more difficult than to kind of shrug at make room for it.
There's this feeling that ennui comes and goes with young adulthood, but these characters persist at this stage in life, whether they're thirty or fifty. They're caught, unaware of even the trap, and somehow the humor piles around them even as they sink deeper into the mire. These characters are not funny people. They do not make one another laugh, and, I think, it's what makes their absurd lives so funny, even when it surprises you how funny you're finding it.
Along with that, there are real tender moments of beauty. The love of a dog, the life of a house, and my favorite: telling a story only to reach a single moment. That last one is summarised by a line within it:
--For three months, a person sits and looks at you, imagining a kiss.--
It's as if he wrote the whole of the story only to reach that line, and, once reached, the story had to end. And it's beautiful in its simplicity, in its purity, in its longing. I wrote this story for you because I imagined your kiss, just as the character watches the other for three months only imagining a single kiss.
But, yes, off to track off everything he's written. Highly recommended.
--A dream is nothing but a strong wish. So strong that you can't even put it into words.--
He gets there through situations. It's not a single sentence that makes you laugh, not a one liner kind of thing, but these absurd circumstances and situations that reach this point where nothing can hold back the laughter, especially not the sadness of the characters. And this, I think, is what makes his writing so impressive. He's not the kind of writer who blows you away with a sublime sentence or even with a singular moment of shocking insight, but he knocks you over laughing, always on the razor, tightroping between tragedy and comedy.
While these are certainly funny stories, there's so much more to them than funny moments. And though he never tries to capture a life in a single sentence the way so many others do, he reflects life in all its absurd surreality with almost disgusting ease and insight.
I believe that all writers have something small inside them that's the impetus behind the art. It may be a scene or a sentence or a moment, but it's there, I think, always, the heart beating in the floor. The humor here, to me, is not a mask, but a lens. It's the prism through which Keret comes to understand the world, in all its bizarreness. Though the stories are rather short, the characters are the type that tumble off the page, sit beside you when you forget to look.
And there's a deep sadness in all these stories, characters on the brink of existential crises, imbued with ennui, lost, aimless. These characters are drifters without the drift, locked in stasis. It is this unbearable lightness of being, to steal a phrase and misappropriate it, that's at the heart of these stories, and why the humor is so essential. These characters are not choosing to keep going, to keep walking despite the pain and the suffering, but just keep going because it seems just as hard to stop, maybe even harder. They accept things, not through rationalisation or through choice, but simply because this new thing is there and to change it is more difficult than to kind of shrug at make room for it.
There's this feeling that ennui comes and goes with young adulthood, but these characters persist at this stage in life, whether they're thirty or fifty. They're caught, unaware of even the trap, and somehow the humor piles around them even as they sink deeper into the mire. These characters are not funny people. They do not make one another laugh, and, I think, it's what makes their absurd lives so funny, even when it surprises you how funny you're finding it.
Along with that, there are real tender moments of beauty. The love of a dog, the life of a house, and my favorite: telling a story only to reach a single moment. That last one is summarised by a line within it:
--For three months, a person sits and looks at you, imagining a kiss.--
It's as if he wrote the whole of the story only to reach that line, and, once reached, the story had to end. And it's beautiful in its simplicity, in its purity, in its longing. I wrote this story for you because I imagined your kiss, just as the character watches the other for three months only imagining a single kiss.
But, yes, off to track off everything he's written. Highly recommended.
--A dream is nothing but a strong wish. So strong that you can't even put it into words.--
August 22, 2013
"Щом стигнете до най-важния кръстопът в живота си и не знаете как да постъпите, просто се отбивате в най-близкия до дома ви офис на "Втори шанс" и подробно им обяснявате дилемата си. После избирате която си пожелаете от алтернативите и продължавате да живеете нея. Не се притеснявайте, другата опция - тази, която не сте избрали, не отпада. Пускат я да върви на един от техните компютри "Дедабях" и грижливо отчитат всички променливи. След като изживеете каквото сте предпочели докрай, тялото ви се депозира в една от залите "Пътища неизвървени", където всички данни биват подадени в реално време към мозъка ви, който на свой ред бива поддържан жив чрез уникален биоелектронен процес, разработен специално за целта. Така вашият собствен мозък ще ви обезпечи опита от целия друг живот, който сте можели да имате, до последната подробност.
...
(Впрочем куршум в главата е изключително неуместно решение: Втори шанс не поема отговорност за качеството на предлаганата услуга в случай на сериозно увреждане на тъканта на главния мозък)"
с подобно въображение този човек си е обезпечил поне 8, не - 38 паралелно разгръщащи се живота, от които ни сдобива с неизчерпаеми сюжети, без усещане за ни най-малко сходство между историите, всяка със свое лице, с ярки черти, не натежават, не отегчават, без претенция, без да са ясно изказани, без назовани послания, а повече - замлъкнали във финалните изречения. истории - леки, леки, с многото си пътни произшествия и тъжни раздели с обичани същества, не са бреме, а са почва за поникване на ценно (пре)осмисляне, кратки като премигване или понятни поне след няколко премигвания.
"Влез във връзка със себе си! Не разбираш ли какво ти се случва? Та ти си в момент на центробежност." - съветват Асамтой, Той пък е Всеки Един, отклонил се от центъра си. и разказите така - уж водят към история, съвсем последователна и ясно начертана, говорят конкретно, а фокусът остава изместен ... към изгубените ни връзки със себе си.
хубав човек.
...
(Впрочем куршум в главата е изключително неуместно решение: Втори шанс не поема отговорност за качеството на предлаганата услуга в случай на сериозно увреждане на тъканта на главния мозък)"
с подобно въображение този човек си е обезпечил поне 8, не - 38 паралелно разгръщащи се живота, от които ни сдобива с неизчерпаеми сюжети, без усещане за ни най-малко сходство между историите, всяка със свое лице, с ярки черти, не натежават, не отегчават, без претенция, без да са ясно изказани, без назовани послания, а повече - замлъкнали във финалните изречения. истории - леки, леки, с многото си пътни произшествия и тъжни раздели с обичани същества, не са бреме, а са почва за поникване на ценно (пре)осмисляне, кратки като премигване или понятни поне след няколко премигвания.
"Влез във връзка със себе си! Не разбираш ли какво ти се случва? Та ти си в момент на центробежност." - съветват Асамтой, Той пък е Всеки Един, отклонил се от центъра си. и разказите така - уж водят към история, съвсем последователна и ясно начертана, говорят конкретно, а фокусът остава изместен ... към изгубените ни връзки със себе си.
хубав човек.
November 26, 2011
Within Israeli letters Etgar Keret apparently occupies a sphere of his own. Kind of Raymond Carver like in not only his use of the short story but also in the somberness of tone and subject matter Keret also has definitely learned some things from the schools of magical realism and absurd fiction, and all to his benefit.
Keret's stories, while not all equally brilliant are all substantive and intriguing as all hell. Starting from a basic premise and giving it a simple but integral dark twist Keret forces the reader to gaze at the abysmal recesses laying beneath everyday life, and how his characters respond to these situations is very telling not only of the Israeli national condition but of people in general.
Don't get me wrong, Keret's not the second coming, at least not yet. But the nonchalance with which he deals with the dark and mundane, the funny and the depressing is nothing short of the professional story teller level. A critic derided Keret as something like 'writing story down ideas on bus rides', but I don't think this is negative. Keret writes about the everyday because, like another favorite writer of mine: Harvey Pekar, sees that the grand and important issues regarding people anywhere at anytime can best be discerned from the day to day lives of people just trying to survive and remain human, whatever that definition entails in whatever country, language, or time the writer focuses on.
A quick and great read from what I hope to be an ever evolving talent from Israel.
Keret's stories, while not all equally brilliant are all substantive and intriguing as all hell. Starting from a basic premise and giving it a simple but integral dark twist Keret forces the reader to gaze at the abysmal recesses laying beneath everyday life, and how his characters respond to these situations is very telling not only of the Israeli national condition but of people in general.
Don't get me wrong, Keret's not the second coming, at least not yet. But the nonchalance with which he deals with the dark and mundane, the funny and the depressing is nothing short of the professional story teller level. A critic derided Keret as something like 'writing story down ideas on bus rides', but I don't think this is negative. Keret writes about the everyday because, like another favorite writer of mine: Harvey Pekar, sees that the grand and important issues regarding people anywhere at anytime can best be discerned from the day to day lives of people just trying to survive and remain human, whatever that definition entails in whatever country, language, or time the writer focuses on.
A quick and great read from what I hope to be an ever evolving talent from Israel.
January 2, 2009
I both did and did not like this book. I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoy viewing abstract/avant-garde art - the premises and twists and turns in these short stories are so off-the-wall they open your mind in different directions, and that's usually a good thing. However, more often than not, these extremely short stories (typically no more than 3 pages long) depend upon some perversion as their hook, which gets boring and predictable. In many cases, a story starts out solidly with an almost tangible setting and 3-D characters but then veers off dramatically in some absurd way. You can usually point to the exact sentence where Keret has decided to blow the whole thing up by yanking the steering wheel and driving wildly off course. It's jarring and unnatural, which is a shame because he really can write well. The best way I can sum up reading each of these stories is that it's like paying a dollar at the circus for a 60-second viewing of one of their 'human oddities' - you're drawn in by the hawker's pitch, then utterly disappointed by the inauthentic experience, but only mildly disappointed in the end because you didn't pay that much and it didn't waste that much of your time. However, do that 30 times in a row . . . and you DO feel like you've paid too much and wasted your time.
June 29, 2025
Bu kitabı okuduktan sonra şöyle hissettim: Sanki biri beynimin arkasına saklanmış eski bir çocukluk korkusunu alıp plastik tabancayla vurmadan önce öpüp alnına koymuş gibi. Keret, absürdün içindeki hakikati o kadar iyi biliyor ki bu hikâyeleri okurken hem gülümsüyorsun hem boğazında bir düğümle dolanıyorsun.
Kısa ama yıkıcı öyküler. “Nimrod Çıldırışları” yalnızca isim değil, çağımızın hal-i pür-melali. İsrail toplumunun sinir uçlarına dokunurken bizim mahalleye de uğruyor. Askerlik, delilik, aşk, ölüm, travma… Ama hiçbir şey didaktik değil, hiçbir cümle “ben bir fikir taşıyorum” diye bağırmıyor. Keret her şeyi fısıltıyla söylüyor ama kulak zarını patlatmayı başarıyor.
Bazı öyküler o kadar kısa ki neredeyse yoklar. Ama tam da bu yüzden sonsuzlar. Boşluklarla yazılmış metinler bunlar. Ve o boşluklar Türkiye’de bir otobüs camına yaslanmış insanların suratında da duruyor sanki.
Gönül Puanı: 9/10
Tekrar okur muyum? Evet. Arada açıp birini tekrar okumak terapi gibi.
Hikâye: Absürdün içinde çok sahici.
Oyunculuk: (Karakterler için düşünürsek) Fazla gerçek oldukları için kurmaca sanıyoruz.
Zamanın Değeri: Kısa sürede uzun etki.
İçimizdeki Nimrod’un çoktan çıldırdığı bir ülkede yaşıyoruz. Bu kitap, o Nimrod’a kulak vermeyi hatırlatıyor.
Kısa ama yıkıcı öyküler. “Nimrod Çıldırışları” yalnızca isim değil, çağımızın hal-i pür-melali. İsrail toplumunun sinir uçlarına dokunurken bizim mahalleye de uğruyor. Askerlik, delilik, aşk, ölüm, travma… Ama hiçbir şey didaktik değil, hiçbir cümle “ben bir fikir taşıyorum” diye bağırmıyor. Keret her şeyi fısıltıyla söylüyor ama kulak zarını patlatmayı başarıyor.
Bazı öyküler o kadar kısa ki neredeyse yoklar. Ama tam da bu yüzden sonsuzlar. Boşluklarla yazılmış metinler bunlar. Ve o boşluklar Türkiye’de bir otobüs camına yaslanmış insanların suratında da duruyor sanki.
Gönül Puanı: 9/10
Tekrar okur muyum? Evet. Arada açıp birini tekrar okumak terapi gibi.
Hikâye: Absürdün içinde çok sahici.
Oyunculuk: (Karakterler için düşünürsek) Fazla gerçek oldukları için kurmaca sanıyoruz.
Zamanın Değeri: Kısa sürede uzun etki.
İçimizdeki Nimrod’un çoktan çıldırdığı bir ülkede yaşıyoruz. Bu kitap, o Nimrod’a kulak vermeyi hatırlatıyor.
November 28, 2016
Barusan selesai baca bukunya Etgar Keret, "The Nimrod Flip Out". Saya suka banget sama Keret karena dia berhasil ngasih lihat kalau tulisan bagus itu enggak perlu panjang-panjang. Lewat cerpen-cerpennya yang super pendek, Keret ngasih lihat tulisan bagus harus hemat dan efektif. Kalau yang pengin diomongin bisa disampaikan lewat 500 kata, ya sudah, enggak usah dipanjang-panjangin jadi 5.000 kata. Tulisan panjang belum tentu berisi. Sebaliknya, tulisan pendek juga kalau cara nulisnya enggak oke, enggak bakal ngasih efek apa-apa.
Kalau di film-film action, Keret itu penembak jitu dan cerpen-cerpennya ibarat peluru sniper rifle, cukup satu tembakan tepat di kepala untuk membuat pembacanya tewas; bukan senapan semi-otomatis yang menghujani musuhnya dengan puluhan peluru, boros dan belum tentu juga berhasil membunuh.
Pengin belajar cara bercerita yang hemat dan efektif bacalah buku-bukunya Keret. Fiksi dan nonfiksinya sama-sama bagus.
Kalau di film-film action, Keret itu penembak jitu dan cerpen-cerpennya ibarat peluru sniper rifle, cukup satu tembakan tepat di kepala untuk membuat pembacanya tewas; bukan senapan semi-otomatis yang menghujani musuhnya dengan puluhan peluru, boros dan belum tentu juga berhasil membunuh.
Pengin belajar cara bercerita yang hemat dan efektif bacalah buku-bukunya Keret. Fiksi dan nonfiksinya sama-sama bagus.
November 26, 2017
So zbierkami poviedok je ten problém, že nie všetky poviedky sú super. Platilo to aj v tomto prípade - kým niektoré ma fakt pobavili príbehom a pointou, pri niektorých som len musela pokrčiť plecami a ísť hneď na ďalšiu.
Oceňujem krátkosť poviedok (takto sa mi ich podarilo prečítať hneď niekoľko na ceste do práce), avšak pri krátkych poviedkach vždy čakám že budú super-mega-ultra úžasné.
V každom prípade, dobré čítanie.
Oceňujem krátkosť poviedok (takto sa mi ich podarilo prečítať hneď niekoľko na ceste do práce), avšak pri krátkych poviedkach vždy čakám že budú super-mega-ultra úžasné.
V každom prípade, dobré čítanie.
September 9, 2016
Great short stories. Some better than others but My heart has been touched deeply by "Glittery Eyes".
December 30, 2021
Etgar Keret je pre mňa jeden z najväčších objavov tohoto roka. Jeho Porucha na kraji galaxie bola okamžitá láska a jedna z najlepších kníh, čo som kedy čítala. A to hovorím ako niekto, kto obvykle nie je veľkým fanúšikom poviedok.
Povedzme, že latka bola nastavená veľmi vysoko.
Osem percent ničoho je dobrá zbierka, ale neočarila ma zďaleka tak veľmi ako práve Porucha. V Poruche boli geniálne pointy, poviedky, ktoré si vybavím aj po polroku len na základe názvu, čo vo mne až tak veľmi zarezonovali a okúzlili ma. Tieto boli pomerne slabým odvarom.
Boli tu nejaké naozaj výborné poviedky - Myšlienka v tvare príbehu, Posledný príbeh a dosť, Exkluzivita, Jasomon, Železné pravidlá, Iba za 19,99 šekelov, Streľba na Tovjeho a nejaké ďalšie, ale boli v menšine. Väčšina bola pomerne priemerná. Zrejme sa tu autor ešte len rozpisoval a objavoval svoje silné stránky.
Som rada, že som ju čítala a som rada, že to nebola kniha, skrz ktorú som sa s autorovou tvorbou zoznámila. Chýbalo tam to niečo extra, tá genialita, ktorou mi predtým autor vyrazil dych v takmer každej poviedke. Sú to stále veľmi dobre napísané nadpriemerné poviedky, no keďže viem, že to vie aj omnoho lepšie, som z knihy skôr taká rozpačitá.
Povedzme, že latka bola nastavená veľmi vysoko.
Osem percent ničoho je dobrá zbierka, ale neočarila ma zďaleka tak veľmi ako práve Porucha. V Poruche boli geniálne pointy, poviedky, ktoré si vybavím aj po polroku len na základe názvu, čo vo mne až tak veľmi zarezonovali a okúzlili ma. Tieto boli pomerne slabým odvarom.
Boli tu nejaké naozaj výborné poviedky - Myšlienka v tvare príbehu, Posledný príbeh a dosť, Exkluzivita, Jasomon, Železné pravidlá, Iba za 19,99 šekelov, Streľba na Tovjeho a nejaké ďalšie, ale boli v menšine. Väčšina bola pomerne priemerná. Zrejme sa tu autor ešte len rozpisoval a objavoval svoje silné stránky.
Som rada, že som ju čítala a som rada, že to nebola kniha, skrz ktorú som sa s autorovou tvorbou zoznámila. Chýbalo tam to niečo extra, tá genialita, ktorou mi predtým autor vyrazil dych v takmer každej poviedke. Sú to stále veľmi dobre napísané nadpriemerné poviedky, no keďže viem, že to vie aj omnoho lepšie, som z knihy skôr taká rozpačitá.
November 7, 2025
อ่านงานของ เกเรต ทุกครั้ง ก็ยังทึ่งในยจินตนาการและการผูกเรื่องราวสามัญเข้ากับความแปลกประหลาด หลุดโลก บ้าบ้า บวมบวม ที่กลายเป็นเอกลักษณ์ภาพจำในงานของเขาแบบติดหนึบยิ่งกว่ากาวตราช้าง
สำหรับนิมรอดนอตหลุด เรียกได้ว่าแตกต่างไปจากเล่ม คิดถึงคิสซิงเจอร์พอสมควร ในขณะที่คิสซิงเจอร์คือบ้าทะลุปรอท จนผมยังคงนิยามว่า เกเรต คือ คนบ้าที่มีความสามารถในการเขียนหนังสือเป็นแน่แท้ เพราะไม่มีอะไรปกติเลยในงานของเขา
แต่พอมาเล่มนี้ ผมว่าเกเรตคงได้หมอมือดีมาวินิจฉัยแล้ว หลังจากคงมีคนร้องเรียนไปว่าเขาน่าจะไม่ปกติซักเท่าไหร่ ซึ่งหมอก็ตอบรับและพาเขาไปรักษา ทานยาพูดคุยกันนิดหน่อย จนเขามีโอกาสลอบเร้นมาเขียนเรื่องสั้นอันเป็นที่รักของเขาเล่มนี้
ในภาพรวมทั้งหมด (ต้องเขียนภาพรวมเพราะมันบรรจุเรื่องสั้น 32 เรื่องเลยท่าน) ผมคิดว่าสามารถนิยามแบบรวบรัดชัดเจนว่ามันคือ เรื่องสั้นสไตล์ เรย์มอนด์ คาร์เวอร์ ที่เขียนในรูปแบบของมูราคามิ เรื่องเล่าของความเปราะบางของชนชั้นแรงงานที่เล่าด้วยกลวิธีสุดแปลกประหลาด องค์ประกอบสุดเพี้ยน และตอนจบที่ทำให้เรามีคำถามว่าที่เราอ่านมาคืออะไร แล้วเราจะอ่านมันไปทำไม (วะ)
ที่ตลกที่สุดคือ หากมีคนถามว่าเรื่องสั้นของ เกเรตเล่าอะไรบ้าง ผมมั่นใจได้เลยว่า ผมตอบไม่ได้ เพราะการจดจำเรื่องสั้นของเกเรตดูจะเป็นภารกิจที่ไม่น่าเป็นไปได้ แต่สิ่งเดียวที่ผมจำได้ทุกครั้ง และตลอดเรื่องสั้นทั้ง 32 เรื่อง คือ อารมณ์มวนท้องยุกยิก ยิ้มมุมปากไปเองแบบควบคุมไม่ได้ ต้องขมวดคิ้วในบางจังหวะ และเงยหน้ามองวัตถุรอบตัวด้วยความพินิจพิจารณาใหม่ว่ามันจะมีปากพูดกับเราได้มั้ยนะ จนกลายเป็นว่าจะบ้าบอพิลึกพิลั่นตามเรื่องสั้นของเกเรตไปด้วย
งานของเขาไม่มีอะไรที่เราจะเข้าใจได้ และไม่มีอะไรที่เราจะไม่เข้าใจ แม้ยอมรับว่างานมันนอกพิภพจนอาจจะเลือกคนอ่านที่มีคลื่นความถี่เดียวกันถึงจะจูนกันได้ แต่ถึงกระนั้นก็ยังคงแนะนำทุกคนให้ได้ลองอ่านงานของเขา
เพราะ เอดการ์ เกเรต น่าจะตรงลักษณะของคำกล่าวที่ว่า "อัจฉริยะกับคนบ้า มีเพียงเส้นบางๆกั้นอยู่เท่านั้นเอง"
และใช่ครับ เกเรตอยู่คนละฝั่งกับเส้นด้านอัจฉริยะ ....
สำหรับนิมรอดนอตหลุด เรียกได้ว่าแตกต่างไปจากเล่ม คิดถึงคิสซิงเจอร์พอสมควร ในขณะที่คิสซิงเจอร์คือบ้าทะลุปรอท จนผมยังคงนิยามว่า เกเรต คือ คนบ้าที่มีความสามารถในการเขียนหนังสือเป็นแน่แท้ เพราะไม่มีอะไรปกติเลยในงานของเขา
แต่พอมาเล่มนี้ ผมว่าเกเรตคงได้หมอมือดีมาวินิจฉัยแล้ว หลังจากคงมีคนร้องเรียนไปว่าเขาน่าจะไม่ปกติซักเท่าไหร่ ซึ่งหมอก็ตอบรับและพาเขาไปรักษา ทานยาพูดคุยกันนิดหน่อย จนเขามีโอกาสลอบเร้นมาเขียนเรื่องสั้นอันเป็นที่รักของเขาเล่มนี้
ในภาพรวมทั้งหมด (ต้องเขียนภาพรวมเพราะมันบรรจุเรื่องสั้น 32 เรื่องเลยท่าน) ผมคิดว่าสามารถนิยามแบบรวบรัดชัดเจนว่ามันคือ เรื่องสั้นสไตล์ เรย์มอนด์ คาร์เวอร์ ที่เขียนในรูปแบบของมูราคามิ เรื่องเล่าของความเปราะบางของชนชั้นแรงงานที่เล่าด้วยกลวิธีสุดแปลกประหลาด องค์ประกอบสุดเพี้ยน และตอนจบที่ทำให้เรามีคำถามว่าที่เราอ่านมาคืออะไร แล้วเราจะอ่านมันไปทำไม (วะ)
ที่ตลกที่สุดคือ หากมีคนถามว่าเรื่องสั้นของ เกเรตเล่าอะไรบ้าง ผมมั่นใจได้เลยว่า ผมตอบไม่ได้ เพราะการจดจำเรื่องสั้นของเกเรตดูจะเป็นภารกิจที่ไม่น่าเป็นไปได้ แต่สิ่งเดียวที่ผมจำได้ทุกครั้ง และตลอดเรื่องสั้นทั้ง 32 เรื่อง คือ อารมณ์มวนท้องยุกยิก ยิ้มมุมปากไปเองแบบควบคุมไม่ได้ ต้องขมวดคิ้วในบางจังหวะ และเงยหน้ามองวัตถุรอบตัวด้วยความพินิจพิจารณาใหม่ว่ามันจะมีปากพูดกับเราได้มั้ยนะ จนกลายเป็นว่าจะบ้าบอพิลึกพิลั่นตามเรื่องสั้นของเกเรตไปด้วย
งานของเขาไม่มีอะไรที่เราจะเข้าใจได้ และไม่มีอะไรที่เราจะไม่เข้าใจ แม้ยอมรับว่างานมันนอกพิภพจนอาจจะเลือกคนอ่านที่มีคลื่นความถี่เดียวกันถึงจะจูนกันได้ แต่ถึงกระนั้นก็ยังคงแนะนำทุกคนให้ได้ลองอ่านงานของเขา
เพราะ เอดการ์ เกเรต น่าจะตรงลักษณะของคำกล่าวที่ว่า "อัจฉริยะกับคนบ้า มีเพียงเส้นบางๆกั้นอยู่เท่านั้นเอง"
และใช่ครับ เกเรตอยู่คนละฝั่งกับเส้นด้านอัจฉริยะ ....
January 3, 2008
honestly, this writing style is not for everyone, but i loved his rapid-fire pacing, the way he slams information into the stories line after line. i even liked the freaky, surreal qualities and undeniable male/dude-ish perspectives. reminded me of people who are good at telling stories at parties.
and yes, for anyone who knows about how i spilled nyquil on this book, i did confess to the library, and they said it was ok. they patted me on the back and i cried on their shoulders. like a baby.
and yes, for anyone who knows about how i spilled nyquil on this book, i did confess to the library, and they said it was ok. they patted me on the back and i cried on their shoulders. like a baby.
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