View Full Version : Book Club: May - The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God & Other Stories by Etgar Keret
Discuss the book here!
Rules:
You don't have to be finished reading the book to comment on it.
Make sure to tag and label your spoilers.
Say what chapter you're talking about even if you don't have spoilers in your post.
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And that's it!
This book isn't as easy to come by as I thought. The only copy at the library is checked out and none of the local bookstores carry it. If you plan on getting it, order it on Amazon soon.
tunacake
05-07-2008, 1:15 PM
I ordered mine last week or so. The estimated arrival was the 23rd or something, but I just got an email saying it was delayed. Hopefully it's easier for everyone else.
Finally got the book today. I've read the first three stories so far and I like it so far. It's slightly surreal, but gets more and more out there as you go. What's interesting is that these weren't originally written in English. They were translated, and translated pretty well at that.
Chapter 3: Hole in the Wall
This was my favorite story so far. The ending "he wasn't an angel, just a liar with wings" was great. The whole thing felt a bit like a conversation on Keret's possible distaste towards faith and religion. Believing that yelling into a hole in the wall where an ATM used to be grants wishes is absurd, but he believed in all the same. And then the angel, just personified this guy's unwavering belief which was eventually crushed. I really liked this one.
tunacake
05-15-2008, 1:29 PM
Hey, coincidence. I just got mine today and read the first three.
Hole in the Wall was great. You pretty much summed it all up there, but I really liked that one. It's hard to categorize Keret's style so far, but I'm enjoying it. I can't wait to read more.
tunacake
05-16-2008, 5:09 PM
Chapter 11 - Missing Kissinger
I've enjoyed all of the stories so far, but this one if fucking retarded. The wife asks for his mom's heart, he goes to his mom's house, they talk about his wife sticking her fingers up her cunt and she agrees to give him her heart after he plunks his wife's down on the table. What is this hogwash?
There's probably some blatant meaning that should be obvious to everyone, but I'm in the dark here.
Edit: Sorry 'bout the double-post.
I'm liking the book so far, but has anybody else gotten it yet beside tunacake? I know the deadline to pick the book wasn't kept, but did everyone else just give up?
InTransit
05-22-2008, 10:29 PM
I was finishing off Stephen King's Gunslinger series at the start of this month so I will hopefully be picking up Bus Driver tomorrow. It looks really interesting, and I'm a very fast reader so I should be able to contribute pretty soon :cheer:
Edit: Haven't been able to find it yet.
tunacake
05-25-2008, 5:31 AM
Just finished. I really liked just about every story in the book, with the exception of Missing Kissinger. I don't have it with me but some stories that stick out are Good Intentions, Pipes, and Plague of the Firstborn. And the little novella at the end was pretty interesting as well.
I don't know what it is about Keret's style that interests me, but it kept me reading and kept me entertained.
The novella at the end, Kneller's Happy Campers, was made into a movie a while back called Wristcutters that was actually pretty good. Tom Waits played Kneller!
I really like his writing style, too. He takes some liberties with grammar here and there, but only so much to make it feel like he's articulately retelling the story from memory or something. His subject matter was also great. Surreal as hell, but not too much focus put on the surealism and more on the normal characters in the surreal situation.
tunacake
05-25-2008, 2:50 PM
A movie? With Tom Waits? I didn't think Keret was that well known.
And don't forget that the stories were translated with regards to the grammar.
In the back of the book it says Keret is the most popular writer among Israeli youth. The movie actually came out pretty nicely. It even kept the same introduction, almost word-for-word.
megynn
05-27-2008, 8:47 AM
I'm liking the book so far, but has anybody else gotten it yet beside tunacake? I know the deadline to pick the book wasn't kept, but did everyone else just give up?
My library only had one copy to share between all 7 locations, and it has just now become available. I'll be picking it up tonight. I'm a pretty fast reader, so hopefully I'll be able to participate, even if only for a few days.
My library only had one copy to share between all 7 locations, and it has just now become available. I'll be picking it up tonight. I'm a pretty fast reader, so hopefully I'll be able to participate, even if only for a few days.
Discussion threads don't close so you'll be able to contribute for as long as you want.
megynn
05-30-2008, 11:00 AM
Chapter 11 - Missing Kissinger
I've enjoyed all of the stories so far, but this one if fucking retarded. The wife asks for his mom's heart, he goes to his mom's house, they talk about his wife sticking her fingers up her cunt and she agrees to give him her heart after he plunks his wife's down on the table. What is this hogwash?
There's probably some blatant meaning that should be obvious to everyone, but I'm in the dark here.
Yeah, I didn't get that one either. I was thinking the exact same thing in regard to the blatant symbolism that I just wasn't picking up on. Matt, did you see anything in this one that we didn't?
Shoes
I loved this one! I thought it was a really good example of how literally kids will interpret things. It didn't end the way I was expecting it to, and that made it even better.
Overall, I'm not sure how much I'm digging this book. At the end of almost every chapter I've been left with a sense of "huh?" Maybe that's part of it. It sure is a fast read though.
I was pretty lost as well. At first, he seemed to be going to his mother's house to take her heart, but instead gave her his wife's heart. I thought he killed his wife to prove his love for his mother, which is what his wife originally wanted. But then he actually did take his mother's heart anyways. Before that, it felt like a surreal way to show how, even though this guy thought he loved his wife, he still knew that he really didn't by comparison to someone he definitely knew he loved. But then when he took his mom's heart that kinda went to shit.
It might make more sense if I knew more about Kissinger other than the fact he worked under Nixon for a while. Maybe?
Homemaster
05-30-2008, 9:02 PM
Oh, I haven't read the book, but I just realised who the author is. I had to read Shoes in my creative writing class, and REALLY enjoyed it. Maybe I should get the book if his other stories are as good as that. It managed to portray the kids innocence very well. Short, sharp and written well. At first I was confused, but read it again and got it. I just love how the mum "seems" naive but the perspective is what does it.
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