I have no idea when or why I added this book to my Goodreads to-read list but I'm glad I did. I downloaded it from the library because I was in the mood for a memoir but really this is more a collection of essays. He's a funny guy, this Keret. I need to go actually read his novels now. What I liked the most about this book was the fact that he is Israeli and the essays are all about his daily life there. I realized once I started reading just how little I know of the average Israeli citizen's life.

The story that stood out to me the most, and actually made me somewhat weepy, was when he & his wife played pastrami sandwich with their 6 year old son. How do you play that, you may be wondering. If you are driving along the highway and a bomb siren goes off then you pull over to the side of the road, get out of your car, and lie face down on the ground a little bit away from your car. Keret's 6 year old son was nervous and was refusing to lie down. Keret had the genius idea to smile and ask if instead he wanted to play a fun game called pastrami sandwich. He and his wife are the pieces of bread and the little boy is the pastrami. His wife lies down, then his son on top of her, and finally Keret on top of them both, bracing himself with his arms so her doesn't crush them. His son isn't scared anymore and instead later asks if they can play the game again later. Oh man!! What a parent save! I was so impressed he thought of doing this. Protecting his little boy without scaring him. It also made me so grateful that I live in a country where it is not common knowledge of how to react when a bomb siren goes off.

OK, that story makes the book sound like a bummer but it's not. he has a lot of funny bits. It's a short book, less than 200 pages, so go check it out if you are looking for a book that you can just read 5 or so pages at a time and get a complete story.