This book has moments of pure genius, but because not every little chapter was a stunner, I gave it 4 stars. It's unlike any other memoir you've read. Etgar Keret has a singular voice. He's a Jewish man who lives in Tel Aviv, which is like another world, really. I'm so used to American and British flavor that it was startling to uncover a world of bombings, civil unrest, and parents who are Holocaust survivors sprinkled in with humor, park talk with other parents, and poking fun of your wife. He has an uncanny ability to find meaning in life's simple moments, to draw astute conclusions, to bring to your awareness the very painful reality of belonging to a race hated throughout history. My favorite chapter was the one in which he relates the beautiful way in which Yom Kippur is celebrated. I loved his Polish ties and hope my brother Nathan reads this book.

Отдавна обичам как разказва Етгар Керет - и на хартия и на живо.
Обичам го като приятел от детинство, с когото сме седели на тротоара и сме си разказвали истории. Истории, които са звучели като небивалици, но след години осъзнаваш, че са били съвсем истински и някак си са станали и останали част, от това, което си.
"Седем добри години", както самият автор признава, е много лична книга.
В нея Керет говори за страховете, тъгите и съмненията като част от собственото си ежедневие.Диалозите и случките, в които главни герои са той и семейството му, са очарователни, забавни и умилителни.
Етгар е загрижен и обичлив баща, който се опитва да разбере и приеме лудостта на света, да го преведе на по-разбираем за сина си език. Напомня ми на героя на Роберто Бенини в "Животът е прекрасен" - усмихва се пред лицето на грозното и необяснимото, разрошва косата на Лев и му казва "Не се плаши моето момче, това е само игра, която в крайна сметка ще спечелим".

Hilarious and moving. AA would be proud of me for understanding the Israeli History references.

This was such a quick, entertaining, and enlightening read. Parts of me wanted Keret to go deeper--to tell us more about his childhood, his experiences in the army, his relationship with his family, to give us more context into the political situation in Israel--but then I realized it wouldn't be the same book at all.

I recently heard Etgar Keret on this American Life telling stories about his mother, and he charmed my socks off. I tried to read these stories with his voice in my head and charmed my own socks off. I also laughed a lot. A few of the stories at the beginning of the collection ended with punchlines (bah-dum-tiss!) which is not my preference. But they just got better and better as I kept reading.