Etgar Keret

Last week we were assigned to read one of Etgar Keret's short stories, to get more of a taste of Israeli culture and literature. I don't think anyone expected how strange the stories would be. They are all different tales that leave any reader puzzled and a little alarmed. For example, one entitled Uterus was about a woman's "beautiful" uterus being removed and placed in a museum. I'd never read anything by an Israeli author, and I can't say this particular book of stories has raised my impression. It seems like most things in Israeli culture are a little bit darker. I wonder if this is because Jews as a people have been through a significant amount, so people don't care as much if not everything is censored. I'm definitely curious to explore more parts of Israeli culture.