Etgar Keret -- Insane Creepy Guy? Hilarious Author? Or Both?

The other day my Jewish History teacher lent us a very famous book written by the popular Israeli author Etgar Keret. As part of my credit for the class I decided to choose the option in which I analyze one of his many short stories.

The story I read centered around an Israeli soldier who is stationed at one of the many locations around the borders of Israel. Throughout his service he is constantly harassed by a local Palestinian who calls him "homo" and "faggot." A funny part about this story is how Keret describes the Palestinia through contextual clues. The character consistenly mixes the letters "p" and "b" together. In my opinion, this just made me more pissed off at the Palestinian character because he couldn't pronounce the stupid words right (if you're going to use them, at least make sure you're saying them right). He's instantly portrayed as a nuisance in the audience's eyes. Later on in the story, the soldier realizes that he can't just shoot the Palestinian because they are not on equal playing fields, so it would be unfair to just slaughter his enemy. To put them on the same level, he throws the gun between them. As they both race for the weapon, the soldier brutally beats the Paletinian to death -- another example of Keret's vulgar imagination.

By the end of the story the soldier comes to terms with what he has done -- lost his only friend. It's funny how his enemy was the one person he ever really talked to or interacted with. It shows the depressing lifestyle of a soldier protecting borders and how your morals can be totally flipped upside down and begin to conflict with what you know is right.

I liked this story so much that I decided to get another one of Keret's books titled "Suddenly, A Knock On The Door." I highly recommend you check it out!