Etgar Keret

"The seven years between the birth of Etgar Keret's son and the death of his father were good years, though still full of reasons to worry. Lev is born in the midst of a terrorist attack. Etgar's father gets cancer. The threat of constant war looms over their home and permeates daily life"--

A Memoir

The Seven Good Years

sara

Originally I felt like this was more like a 3.5 just bc I had alr ready Fly Already and I really love how keret writes fiction so in comparison this seemed not as good but as I got towards the end I felt myself being more present in the book and really enjoying it. It just didn’t feel right giving it less than 4 stars. something about keret’s writing is just so human and I always appreciate how he finds humor in the mundane. Will probably reread again in a year or two to see if I can enjoy it as much from the beginning. Keret’s family history as holocaust survivors and the amount of Israeli references is new to me so sometimes I wondered if I was missing things but I don’t really mind, broadens your horizons

Elda Mengisto

"Such is the way of the world. The writer didn't create it, but he's here to say what needs to be said...the writer is neither saint nor tzaddik nor prophet standing at the gate; he's just another sinner who has a somewhat sharper awareness and uses slightly more precise language to describe the inconceivable reality of our world. He doesn't invent a single feeling or thought--all of them existed long before him." (106)

This was a book I wanted to read for a while. An Israeli writer describing his life--what more could I want? I didn't have many expectations going into it--it's supposed to be about the seven years between the birth of his son and the death of his father, what happens between then?

Turns out--a series of funny anecdotes told through short chapters with witty writing and interesting aspects of the world he lives in.

One of the first chapters which made me laugh was "Call and Response", in which he gets calls from telemarketers, and ends up developing a quasi-personal relationship with Devora, who wants to sell him different cable packages. To get away with it all, he pretends to be his younger brother and fakes his death...only for Devora to keep doing her business with a "consolation deal". Another one comes up at "Yours Insincerely", where he decides to write fictional book dedications. I was especially amused by the fact he didn't like having anything written in his book as a child--everyone wants an autographed book, yes?

Along with the witty anecdotes from enjoying airplane flights to his son obtaining chocolate at school because he pretended to be a cat, more serious ones about about his life as an Israeli Jew. One of the early chapters features a debate between Etgar and his wife about whether their son should join the IDF when turns eighteen. Two quotes emerge from this particular exchange: his wife going "I'd rather be controlling, than have to take part in a military funeral on the Mount of Olives fifteen years from now" (54) The importance of the IDF to the Israeli fabric is signified, told through the varied anti-Semitic but then Etgar laments on how he may have to get an attorney, because his son could be a war criminal. I loved seeing it as a contrast between duty to a country and the ramifications which may emerge in the future.

I also loved the anecdotes about religion interspersed throughout the text; for example, how a man named Avraham was told off by a rabbi, who said he would not die until he returned back to the Torah. We also hear the constant stories of people who decided to become "religious", including his sister. That story began with "Nineteen years ago, in a small wedding hall in Bnei Brak, my older sister died, and she now lives in the most orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem" (80). I always love seeing how religion plays well with humor, and Etgar delivered.

If you want a breezy, summer read with a lot of substance behind it, "The Seven Good Years" delivers it in spades. While it's not all sunshine and rainbows, you will get a bunch of stories in here--while not entirely cohesive, can give a good laugh or insight on the world. (9/10)

Steven Ovadia

An amazing collection of short essays. Keret is profound without overwriting. It's a wonderful collection.

Paulina 

Moje pierwsze spotkanie z Keretem i już wiem, że nie ostatnie.

A opowiadanie Mój starszy brat to cudenko.

Laura

Etgar Keret is one of my favorite authors. He writes in short stories, is hilarious and is a brilliant commentator. It was cool to get insights into his life and to be transported to Israel through the book.

Simona Paunova

Niki a

Alexandra Vo

Andrea Rosen

Adèle Grémaud

A brilliant, life-affirming, and hilarious memoir from a “genius” (The New York Times) and master storyteller. With illustrations by Jason Polan. The seven years between the birth of Etgar Keret’s son and the death of his father were good years, though still full of reasons to worry. Lev is born in the midst of a terrorist attack. Etgar’s father gets cancer. The threat of constant war looms over their home and permeates daily life. What emerges from this dark reality is a series of sublimely absurd ruminations on everything from Etgar’s three-year-old son’s impending military service to the terrorist mind-set behind Angry Birds. There’s Lev’s insistence that he is a cat, releasing him from any human responsibilities or rules. Etgar’s siblings, all very different people who have chosen radically divergent paths in life, come together after his father’s shivah to experience the grief and love that tie a family together forever. This wise, witty memoir—Etgar’s first nonfiction book published in America, and told in his inimitable style—is full of wonder and life and love, poignant insights, and irrepressible humor.

The Seven Good Years A Memoir

Reviews