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Unfair to Goliath
English, Hebrew (translation)
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
5 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Ephraim Kishon
267 books161 followersEphraim Kishon (Hebrew: אפרים קישון) was an Israeli writer, satirist, dramatist, screenwriter, and film director.
Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary, as Ferenc Hoffmann (Hungarian Hoffmann Ferenc), Kishon studied sculpture and painting, and then began publishing humorous essays and writing for the stage.
During World War II the Nazis imprisoned him in several concentration camps. At one camp his chess talent helped him survive as the camp commandant was looking for an opponent. In another camp the Germans lined up the inmates shooting every tenth person, passing him by. He later wrote in his book The Scapegoat, "They made a mistake—they left one satirist alive." He managed to escape while being transported to the Sobibor death camp in Poland, and hid the remainder of the war disguised as "Stanko Andras", a Slovakian laborer.
After 1945 he changed his surname from Hoffmann to Kishont to disguise his Jewish heritage and returned to Hungary to study art and publish humorous plays. He immigrated to Israel in 1949 to escape the Communist regime, and an immigration officer gave him the name Ephraim Kishon.
His first marriage, in 1946 to Eva (Chawa) Klamer, ended in divorce. In 1959, he married his second wife Sara (née Lipovitz), who died in 2002. In 2003, he married the Austrian writer Lisa Witasek. He had three children: Raphael (b. 1957), Amir (b. 1963), and Renana (b. 1968).
Bulgarian Profile.
Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary, as Ferenc Hoffmann (Hungarian Hoffmann Ferenc), Kishon studied sculpture and painting, and then began publishing humorous essays and writing for the stage.
During World War II the Nazis imprisoned him in several concentration camps. At one camp his chess talent helped him survive as the camp commandant was looking for an opponent. In another camp the Germans lined up the inmates shooting every tenth person, passing him by. He later wrote in his book The Scapegoat, "They made a mistake—they left one satirist alive." He managed to escape while being transported to the Sobibor death camp in Poland, and hid the remainder of the war disguised as "Stanko Andras", a Slovakian laborer.
After 1945 he changed his surname from Hoffmann to Kishont to disguise his Jewish heritage and returned to Hungary to study art and publish humorous plays. He immigrated to Israel in 1949 to escape the Communist regime, and an immigration officer gave him the name Ephraim Kishon.
His first marriage, in 1946 to Eva (Chawa) Klamer, ended in divorce. In 1959, he married his second wife Sara (née Lipovitz), who died in 2002. In 2003, he married the Austrian writer Lisa Witasek. He had three children: Raphael (b. 1957), Amir (b. 1963), and Renana (b. 1968).
Bulgarian Profile.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 18, 2019
Kada u ruke uzmem knjigu na kojoj piše da sadrži 36 humoreski, očekujem da se nasmejem. Očekujem da odmorim, da se zabavim.. Neće da može, šlepala sam ovaj naslov za sobom skoro pola meseca, sreća pa su humoreske kratke, u suprotnom ko zna šta bi bilo. :)
A i ova dvojka je više na osnovu onih gusara u gondolama iz „Kita boli more“, čisto da znaš jer stvarno - nije fer, Efraime.
A i ova dvojka je više na osnovu onih gusara u gondolama iz „Kita boli more“, čisto da znaš jer stvarno - nije fer, Efraime.
February 7, 2019
prvi put sam ju čitala valjda kad sam imala 15, 16 godina.... na prijedlog mog oca koji se naglas smijao dok ju je čitao i kopirao kishonove fore u svakodnevici... i zapamtila sam kishona kao duhovitog autora. nisam mu se vraćala otada i sad sam, sa žaljenjem, ustanovila da mi više nije onoliko duhovit. to jesu humoreske i nose taj fini, zastarjeli... "mekani" humor nekih prošlih vremena, ali ja sam taj humor ili ostavila negdje iza sebe ili jednostavno odrasla u osobu nekompatibilnu za tu vrstu šala i pošalica. četiri zvijezdice više iz sentimentalnih razloga, nego zbog literarne kvalitete...
February 11, 2025
Komično delo bez straha da se pocepate od smeha. Ovo mi je već treće autorovo delo o bubicama jevrejskog naroda prezentovanih u nizu više kratkih priča koje okvirno možete povezati sa njegovim stvarnim životom. Bila sam blizu da knjigu odložim ubrzo nakon početka i drago mi je da nisam, ali ne bi ni da hvalim preterano. Sasvim ok u mojim očima i to je to.
October 8, 2013
Was ist schon fair heutzutage!
Ich bin mit humoristischen Büchern schwer zum Lachen zu kriegen. Ein mildes Lächeln, ein leichtes Grinsen, das ist meist das höchste der Gefühle, die "komische" Texte in mir hervorrufen können. Bereits bei der ersten Geschichte dieses Sammelbands kurzer Glossen musste ich laut lachen, und das, obwohl ich diese Geschichten alle schon (zugegebenermaßen vor langer Zeit) mal gelesen hatte. Nun grabe ich die alten Bücher nochmal aus.
Dieser trockene Humor Kishons trifft einfach einen Nerv in mir. In letzter Zeit ist überkritischer Sarkasmus und Dauerironie en vogue, doch davon übersättigt man sehr schnell, während Kishons Homage an seine jüdischen Landsleute nie verletzend oder kritisch, dafür immer liebevoll ist, und dabei trotzdem sehr pointiert bleibt - auch, weil er sich selbst immer wieder als Zielscheibe seiner satirischen Blicke auf die Gesellschaft anbietet.
Ich habe alles gelesen, was Kishon je geschrieben hat, und einen Großteil dessen, was ich über Israel weiß, weiß ich von ihm. Das mag nicht immer die Realität widerspiegeln, doch immer, wenn ich die hauptsächlich negativ-düsteren Fernsehnachrichten über Israel und diesen furchtbar unsympathischen Netanjahu sehe, denke ich dabei gleichzeitig an den Installateur Platschek und den Aushilfsschauspieler Morris Kalaniot und die Babysitterin Regine Popper, und schon ist das Weltbild wieder in eine vernünftige Ausgangslage gerückt.
Ich bin mit humoristischen Büchern schwer zum Lachen zu kriegen. Ein mildes Lächeln, ein leichtes Grinsen, das ist meist das höchste der Gefühle, die "komische" Texte in mir hervorrufen können. Bereits bei der ersten Geschichte dieses Sammelbands kurzer Glossen musste ich laut lachen, und das, obwohl ich diese Geschichten alle schon (zugegebenermaßen vor langer Zeit) mal gelesen hatte. Nun grabe ich die alten Bücher nochmal aus.
Dieser trockene Humor Kishons trifft einfach einen Nerv in mir. In letzter Zeit ist überkritischer Sarkasmus und Dauerironie en vogue, doch davon übersättigt man sehr schnell, während Kishons Homage an seine jüdischen Landsleute nie verletzend oder kritisch, dafür immer liebevoll ist, und dabei trotzdem sehr pointiert bleibt - auch, weil er sich selbst immer wieder als Zielscheibe seiner satirischen Blicke auf die Gesellschaft anbietet.
Ich habe alles gelesen, was Kishon je geschrieben hat, und einen Großteil dessen, was ich über Israel weiß, weiß ich von ihm. Das mag nicht immer die Realität widerspiegeln, doch immer, wenn ich die hauptsächlich negativ-düsteren Fernsehnachrichten über Israel und diesen furchtbar unsympathischen Netanjahu sehe, denke ich dabei gleichzeitig an den Installateur Platschek und den Aushilfsschauspieler Morris Kalaniot und die Babysitterin Regine Popper, und schon ist das Weltbild wieder in eine vernünftige Ausgangslage gerückt.
March 2, 2026
Taj sarkazam i cinizam zajedno s ironijom čine odličnu zabavu za nekoliko kišnih i maglovitih popodneva.
January 5, 2017
I expected more from this book, but I can't say that is bad. It's in his style, and it was fun to read it.
December 15, 2021
Manche Geschichten waren super lustig, andere eher nicht. 😅
March 16, 2020
4.5 i najlepiej wydane 3,74 pln ostatnimi czasy. Niesłusznie zapomniany autor - mistrz krótkiej formy, który przypadnie do gustu chociażby fanom Czechowa.
Lekkie w formie, podszyte dużą dawką wysublimowanego humoru opowiadania. Kolejny raz nie zawiodłem się na rekomendacji Pana Marcina Mellera. I dzięki temu, jak zauważyła najlepsza z moich żon - jestem jednym z dwóch fanów w Polsce Efraima Kishona ;)
Lekkie w formie, podszyte dużą dawką wysublimowanego humoru opowiadania. Kolejny raz nie zawiodłem się na rekomendacji Pana Marcina Mellera. I dzięki temu, jak zauważyła najlepsza z moich żon - jestem jednym z dwóch fanów w Polsce Efraima Kishona ;)
October 8, 2018
Collection of satires showing common predicaments of everyday life with dry, farcical humour. I found most of them laughing-out-loud funny. Some of the topics may be more common to life in 1970s Israel, but it's still possible to relate to most of them from every time and place where humans live together in some form of organised society.
March 21, 2018
Not my favourite of his books but it is the first one I read, back in 2005 and therefore carries enough sentimental value to not get 3 stars.
Some stories are hits, some miss the mark for me personally, however, I laughed out loud and the fact I was rereading it did not lessen my enjoyment of it.
Some stories are hits, some miss the mark for me personally, however, I laughed out loud and the fact I was rereading it did not lessen my enjoyment of it.
April 5, 2022
ein wenig zu 70er, aber witzig
July 15, 2022
Auch nach fast 60 Jahren noch witzig!
October 10, 2016
I'd already read a couple of the stories in other collections and the translation (in pt-BR) has a different feel from the other books. Also, although I normally enjoy his satire-by-exaggeration, some of the the stereotypes hit me the wrong way this time around.
[ETA]: I've since then read that the German translator of Kishon's books did such a good job that the books may have improved as a result. I wonder if the Brazilian books that I've enjoyed more than this one were translated from the German.
[ETA]: I've since then read that the German translator of Kishon's books did such a good job that the books may have improved as a result. I wonder if the Brazilian books that I've enjoyed more than this one were translated from the German.
January 29, 2016
A light and easy reading, this book is composed of many short satirical sketches that take a specific idea to its ridicule extreme, being at times quite funny, as well as painting an interesting picture of some aspects of the Israeli culture ere the '70s.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews