Dubbed a ‘genius’ by Salmon Rushdie, Etgar Keret is one of Israel’s finest contemporary writers. While he’s dabbled in acting and directing, Keret’s best known for his colossal collection of short stories.
The son of two Holocaust survivors, he says his parents’ tales educated him to not take anything for granted. Their lives, filled with instability and constant surprise, are themes often found in his works.
He’s just finished his first nonfiction work, The Seven Good Years, a book about the seven first years of his son’s life and the seven last of his father’s, but at home, he’s best known for Breaking the Pig.
It tells about a child who befriends his piggybank. When it’s filled, he realizes his father expects him to smash his precious porker. To save the bank, he smuggles it out of the house.
“I published it 20 years ago and ever since, I always get on my birthday, dozens of different piggybanks,” says Keret.
His personal favorite remains Pipes, a story about a young man who is able to build himself a special pipe through which he can escape the world he lives in.
It was his first story and was written a week after Keret’s best friend shot and killed himself as the writer was fulfilling his compulsory army service.
Escapism and fantasy are two other themes that run thick throughout his collections. Jewish Hassidic tales are another source of inspiration, but when asked what inspires his creative compilations most, he says simply, “life.”
“I love art in all its forms, but I can’t help feeling that something my eight year old child said or something that my mother did always proves to be the strongest inspiration,” he says.
//March 5, 6pm, RMB75. Glamour Bar.
0 User Comments