Israeli Short Stories by Etgar Keret

The Girl on the Fridge is a collection of 46 ultra-short stories by the young Israeli author Etgar Keret.  Keret has been hailed as one of the best modern Israeli authors, and it's true that his hard-edge stories will appeal to a great number of American readers.  Unfortunately many of the stories include language and subject matter that is not suitable for the classroom.  Of the many pieces in The Girl on the Fridge, the most classroom-friendly are "Journey" and "The Summer of '76."

In "Journey," an ex-Israeli soldier tries to find the one place in the world where no one else has been.  Students could discuss the themes of finding oneself, traveling, and the rapidly shrinking world.

In "The Summer of '76," a man looks back on that summer of his life, when important things were happening around the world but nothing touched him personally.  One of the major themes in this piece is the desire to be American, or to have American things.  Students could also discuss what exactly was happening in the world during the summer of '76.

Keret's stories all have a bit of the bizarre in them.  The collection The Nimrod Flipout is no exception.  Again the stories walk the border of appropriateness, often staying on the vulgar side.  But students may enjoy reading "Pride and Joy," about a boy who continues to grow as his parents shrink away to nothing, and "Horsie," in which a man comes to terms with his girlfriend's pregnancy, even when she gives birth to a horse.