Dec
30
In The Nimrod Flipout, Keret creates intelligent and imaginative stories around themes that hit a little too close to home… sort of. Many young men can identify with tales of dogs lost to patriarchal tyranny and friends to the dreariness of life in the military. But in this collection, reality is matched equally with the bizarre. A boy finds the meaning of life in a newspaper advertisement, a talking fish keeps its mouth shut, a civilization of moon inhabitants destroys a rocket ship built only with carefully-shaped thoughts. Half of each story is silly, the other half serious. That said, half of this book is silly, the other half serious. But the collection itself is nothing less than 100% genuine. Keret doesn't miss a beat, writing with the satiric aloofness that most young people use to deal with the disorder of the modern world. Like life, these stories are as happy and hopeful as they are horrific. It’s a good thing life isn’t as short, however, as the stories average out at only a couple of pages each. But the cunning, of whom Keret is absolutely included, need no more than three paragraphs of theatrical, often wicked narrative to reveal a vignette of true wisdom. Just read the first page.Review of Etgar Keret's The Nimrod Flipout
