Fly Already

Reviews / Votes

Dazzling: time and time again, Keret hits on an idea so good that another writer would turn it into a novel ... The book shows a master of the short story pushing against the limits of what the form can achieve. . . There's only one thing Keret is incapable of doing with a story: writing one that's boring * Guardian * [Fly Already] has a completeness and aliveness [...] that makes it a great first venture for the uninitiated, and each five pages contain more action than most novels. This is writing characterised by generosity, where being generous doesn't mean giving too much, but giving the right amount * Irish Times * I am in awe of Keret's ability to simultaneously make me laugh while crying, explore the joy and horror of every day life with precision, brevity and great psychological depth. His recognition of and engagement with the absurd is profound and he never loses his humanity, his heart long the way -- AM Homes Brilliantly edgy, unsettling, Kafkaesque and often very funny -- Joyce Carol Oates A reminder that writing can be accessible, creative, intelligent, transgressive, challenging, funny - and popular - all at the same -- Graeme Simsion Reading Fly Already is like settling down for a ride in a luxurious car with a world-class driver who has an extremely crazy worldview that doesn't interfere with his amazing driving. Is there any better way to see the world? -- Elif Batuman A grandmaster of the incongruous. . . It's Keret's particular brand of brilliance that can simultaneously hold tragedy and comedy, and in such compact packages. . . for Keret's riffs on reality, it seems the sky's the limit * Financial Times * Keret's conversational style is so irresistible, his dialogue so unpretentious and authentic, his throwaway one-liners so damn funny, it's hard to imagine any reader with a sense of humour and a curiosity about humankind not being charmed by his work. . . [his] stories have a lovely lightness of touch...an awesome gut-punch * Big Issue * An antic, anarchic collection that pitches yearning, bumbling, bamboozled characters into situations where salient life lessons are difficult to come by * Daily Mail * Keret's new collection of 22 inventive stories showcases his razor-sharp, satiric wit and genre-shifting style * BBC Culture * Keret is a fantastically inventive writer who grounds wild stories in real emotion. Absurd, often surreal, and precisely, concisely written, the 22 stories here touch a nerve * I Paper * The prose is clear, the tone cool and often funny.... Keret has a terrific turn of phrase... thrilling * Jewish Chronicle * Keret's idiosyncratic collection is both funny and poignant, counterbalancing comedy with a sharp observation of human nature...These are brief, punchy stories, inventive and confident...a hugely enjoyable collection, full of surprises * A Life in Books * Etgar Keret's latest collection of short stories will take you on an emotional rollercoaster * Happy magazine * [The stories] read like Kafkaesque screwball comedies but, even at their most hilarious, they're shot through with tragedy. Keret's conversational writing voice and lightness of touch mask a fierce, philosophical intelligence -- Best short stories of 2019 * Irish Independent * Keret writes tragicomic, Kafka-esque short stories with a wit as dry as the Negev. Acerbic, too, as he deals with humankind's propensity for existential alienation with the absurdity it deserves -- Books for Christmas * I Paper *