This was a really pleasant surprise. Keret's stories are hilarious and full of the fantastic, but they're grounded it something that makes them more than just quick larks. Keret has the talent to pack a lot of meaning and a lot of craft into these short stories, some of which are only three or four pages long, all of which are immensely readable and almost addictive.
What fascinates me, though, is the sheer prevalence of Germans. Keret's stories generally involve outsiders, but none so many as Germans, Germans who finance Israel, Germans who boyfriends cheat on girlfriends with, with whom characters will have a fling. Within that is an exterminator who calls himself "The Eichmann of Termites", an unsettling image in modern Israel. Here, the balance to peaceful, understanding relationships are constantly undercut, and that is a thread that continually pops up.
Keret's stories are quick and breezy, but the undertones regarding the Germans is one thread of many. Keret deftly juggles the funny, the absurd, with more grounding images, and it's his skill in this that makes these stories such a pleasure to read.
4.5/5
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