I tried once in my life to write a novel. I had written something like 80 pages of it when my laptop got stolen. When I told people this, they acted as if something tragic had happened, but I kind of felt relieved, grateful to the thief who saved me from another year of something that felt more like homework than fun.
Etgar KeretSometimes, when you are in a really constrained situation, it makes you more focused about what you want to say and where you're heading. The most beautiful love poems that were ever written are sonnets, composed in a very constraining form.
Etgar KeretWhat happens when you speak colloquial Hebrew is you switch between registers all the time. So in a typical sentence, three words are biblical, one word is Russian, and one word is Yiddish. This kind of connection between very high language and very low language is very natural, people use it all the time.
Etgar KeretAs a child, I never wanted my parents to be unhappy, which meant that I would always contemplate what would make them happy.
Etgar KeretI really believe hatred is not a primal emotion, in that you can't find it in nature. It's basically some kind of distortion of fear.
Etgar Keret