About book The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God And Other Stories (2005)
Този сборник най-малко ми хареса от четирите прочетени досега. Ето в такъв ред приблизително са всичките за мен (предстои ми петият).„Асамтой“„Момичето на хладилника“„Изведнъж на вратата се чука“„Автобусният шофьор, който искаше да бъде бог“Малко е странно странични неща да са ми любими от тази книга, но бях приятно изненада.- откакто „познавам“ Етгар Керет, се питам какво мисли прелюбимият ми Амос Оз за разказите на Етгар.„Разказите на Етгар Керет са свирепи, забавни, пълни с енергия и въображение – и в същото време често са дълбоки, трагични и силно разтърсващи.“ (на задната корица)- думата на прелюбимия ми Салман Рушди тежи като олово, но няколко пъти се е случвало да похвали книги, които не харесвам особено. Сега съвпадение.„Блестящ писател… напълно различен от всичко, което познавам. Гласът на следващото поколение.“- още на 13 стр. се почувствах от една кръвна група със самия Керет, щом се споменава „моят“ Кийт Джарет, дори да е в половин изречение…„Ще пуснат диск на Кийт Джарет и всички ще слушат; ще сложат плоча и никой няма да се натъжи.“Все пак ми се струва, че това е „най-дарк“ книгата на Керет (не че по принцип изобщо не харесвам такива). Казарми, оръжия, побоища, убийства, изтрещявания, самоубийства, младежка изгубеност, Ад, Мосад… Изглежда искам повече „добряшки“ разкази като в другите сборници, а от тук - като „Щуро лепило“, „Автобусният шофьор, който искаше да бъде бог“, „Честит рожден ден“. Нежно-горчиво-фантазийните като „Нищо“, „Ярки цветове“, „Хранителната стойност на сънищата“ също ми допадат (последният само ми беше някак познат). Харесаха ми и „Тротоари“, „Митология“, „Нощта, в която автобусите умряха“, „Тръби“, „Нечовеци“, „Гъливер на исландски“.„- Шоши, извинявай, че те нарекох лъжец. Наистина имало такива зайци. И че те убих извинявай.- Не се коси – рече Шоши. – То всички изтрещяхме.Меир продължаваше да трепери.“Този път не ми беше забавно както с другите сборници. И тъжното не ми беше приятно, както парадоксално ми се случваше с другите книги на Керет. В тях дори на стряскащите истории пак ми беше уютно по някакъв начин. Сега усещах като плашещ трион чувството от десетилетията немир по тези земи, концентрираната беизходица с марка „Близък Изток“. Не е изненадващо, след като в интервю с Керет чух приблизително следното:„Тук почти всеки е убивал някого или някой от семейството му е бил убит.“А буквално в книгата ето как стоят нещата (дано не прозвучи едностранчиво и фанатично този откъс, ще кажа детинското – Керет не е такъв човек. ;) И отново отбелязвам българската „дясна ръка“ на Керет - Милена Варзоновцева).„- Не съм параноясал. Не схващаш ли? Тия всичките са араби.- И какво като са араби? – попитах аз.- Как „какво“? Не знам. Араби, самоубийства – това не те ли психясва, поне малко? А ако разберат, че сме израелци?- Ами сигурно пак ще ни убият. Ни се ли сещаш, че им е през оная работа какви сме. Те са мъртви. Ние сме мъртви. Финита ла комедия.- Не знам – измърмори Гелфанд. – Не обичам араби. Не е заради политиката. Нещо етническо е.- Абе, Узи, не си ли и без това достатъчно прецакан, че да бъдеш и расист?- Не съм расист – смути се Гелфанд. – Аз просто… Знаеш ли какво? Може и наистина да съм малко расист. Но само малко.“
The only reason I picked up this book was to read "Kneller's Happy Campers", because I LOVE Wristcutters so much. "KHC" is an amusing and quite interesting story, (although the story of the film version is much better because it has a funnier, more intelligent plot and because it cuts out all the racist crap). I give "KHC" a 3/5 stars, but the rest of the book overall deserves 2/5.All the other stories in the book are mostly bad attempts at absurdist writing. Most of them are way too abrupt, (I am not criticizing them for being short, I am criticizing them for not having a solid ending, or any ending for that matter) and also come off as somewhat trashy at times. There is a prevalence of sloppy sexual content all through the book, which aims to be rebellious and punky but just seems rude. It as if the writer wrote most of these in a haze of pot smoke after an orgy that no one showed up to.There are several statements of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab racism throughout the book and its stories, (i.e. calling Uzbekistan a god-forsaken place, calling Islamists sword-wielding, back-stabbing martyr wannabes, a suicide bombing dead guy in "KHC", and the incredibly derogatory characterization of the Palestinian rebel). There is also an anti-German story ("Shoes"), which turns the plight of the holocaust victims into an unending and vicious Israeli hatred which the author does little to unravel.. instead of showing the complicated nature of things, the writer just seems to pick black and white definitions of good and evil, according to the personal biases of his people and his country, while dehumanizing all those that his national identity vilifies in his eyes. That is incredibly sad. Moreover, the derogatory N-word for black people is used once in "Good Intentions."There also seems to be a misogynist and macho/wannabe alpha-male vibe to several of the stories; many of the female characters represent nothing more than sexual satisfaction (or lack thereof) for men, or they are shown to be sources of hyperbolical male anger, anxiety, and annoyance. The female characters mostly come off as simple and shallow and are characterized mainly by their physical appearance and emotional aspects while the male character are characterized mainly by their psyches. The better stories in this collection include "Katzenstein" and "Pipes" (my two favorites), "The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God," "Missing Kissinger," and "Good Intentions." Also, despite its shortcomings, the book did give me a rare opportunity to look into the mind of an Israeli and experience the Israeli way of life and thinking, which was quite illuminating, in a tragic, educational, eye-opening way.
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Etgar Keret has been decorated the prestigious title of Israel's hippest young writer, and from what I’ve read by his books, The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God, The Nimrod Flip Out, and Gazza Blues, he's worthy of the title. His work is, as noted on Amazon, snapshots that illuminate with intelligence and wit. Hilarity and anguish are the twin pillars of his work. Keret covers a remarkable emotional and narrative terrain - from a father's first lesson to his boy to a standoff between soldiers caught in the Middle East conflict to a slice of life where nothing much happens. Don’t expect huge amounts of text, his books a short and sweet, but that said, his stories pack and powerful punch.Keret's work has had a real impact on my own writing. While I admire slice-of-life prose, I think if you've got the chance, and a blank piece of paper, then you should really try and take the reader somewhere they're not expecting. Keret does this really well. His series of shorts (very short shorts), $9.99, have just been made into a stop motion film by Tatia Rosenthal. I really encourage anyone out there with an interest in the strange and bizzare to go and search out his work. In truth, I keep a copy of The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God on my coffee table at all times and refer back to it whenever I get disheartend with whatever I'm reading. It acts as a reminder that there is still wonderful work being produced.
—Craig Wallwork
Imaginasi si yahudi yang seorang ni memang terlampau. Cuma ada satu cerita yang agak panjang yang mana ramai telah mencadangkan agar ia seharusnya diterbitkan secara novella.Beberapa cerpen awal sudahpun menggigit, Hole in the Wall berkisarkan seorang lelaki pembohong bersayap yang disangka malaikat, Souvenir from Hell pula aku tak tahu macam mana Keret dapat idea untuk meletakkan sebuah kampung di Uzbekistan yang dibina dekat dengan pintu Neraka. Dalam Breaking the Pig, seoranng kanak-kanak bakal dihadiahkan patung Bart Simpson selepas dia mulai memahami nilai dan tanggungjawab melalui Margolis, sebuah tabung babi porselin. Paling melekat bagi kami adalah Shoes, bagaimana sebuah kasut buatan Jerman menjadi penghubung silaturrahim antara cucu dan datuknya yang terbunuh dalam tragedi Holocaust, Shoes antara yang paling ironi. Ini baru tajuk di suku buku, dan kau takkan berhenti untuk menghabiskan kesemuanya.Kalau pernah baca Girl on the Fridge, kau akan nampak sedikit perbezaan atau mungkin perkembangan pada emosi penulisan si Yahudi ini.Untuk karya beliau seterusnya kami bercadang untuk mendapatkan Gaza Blues, kolaborasi beliau dengan penulis Palestin(kalau ada jual-lah). Gaza Blues juga salah satu tajuk cerpen dalam Girl on the Fridge.
—Mahmud Qayyum
Another fabulous collection of warped and wonderful short stories from Israel.As I mentioned on my review of Suddenly a Knock on the Door Etgar Keret writes stories unlike anybody else, stories that are often strange and slightly fantastical, funny, dark, impressive and affecting and this collection is no different in that respect.That collection is one of the best books I've read in 2012 and so when Leah brought home a tattered and spine broken copy of this one, found thrown away by a careless reader, I was over the moon. Discovering that it also included the novella 'Knellers Happy Campers' was the cherry on top. Knellers is the book that the beautiful offbeat indie movie Wristcutters: A Love Story was based on and I've been intrigued by the original story from the moment I saw the film.Amongst the consistently great stuff contained in this collection the standout short stories for me were Breaking The Pig and Shoes, two utterly charming stories that understand, and have a great affection for, the vagaries of the human mind and human bahaviour, with their magical realism they encapsulate the ouevre of Keret so completely.The main event was a slight letdown after the movie and the long wait to read the story; Knellers is essentially a Keret style short story extended to 60 pages, so it is warped and wonderful and charming and funny and with a message but it also lacks some of the beauty and joy of the movie which is most definitely not a Keret movie.As a complete work this collection is not as enjoyable or complete as his later work but as an example of a great talents early work it is remarkable with plenty to recommend.
—Tfitoby
