I don't have Facebook or Twitter accounts yet. Being a compulsive storyteller, I always make up for myself discouraging stories about how such accounts will get me into embarrassing and time-consuming situations. Etgar Keret accountcompulsiveconsume share on social
Sometimes, 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 Keret beautifulcomposeconstrain share on social
When I write a story, I have no idea what I'm doing. All I know is that I want to share something with my readers. The whole idea of writing is this place where you lose control, where you're irresponsible - it's a very liberating place. Etgar Keret controlideairresponsible share on social
What you experience in the army, aged 18 to 21, is what you take through all your life. You cross invisible lines: you shoot someone, get shot, break into people's houses. It's naive to think you won't carry anything into your life. Etgar Keret agearmybreak share on social
Generally, all my life, I have had strong friction with life - I was a problematic soldier, I was kicked out of the army, I was in fights. There was something about writing that was a way of experimenting with this emotion. Etgar Keret armyemotionexperiment share on social
I was first introduced to Kafka's writing during my compulsory army-service basic training. During that period, Kafka's fiction felt hyperrealistic. Etgar Keret armybasiccompulsory Change image and share on social
Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're a relevatist, that anything goes; it just means that you show the complexity of life. Life is always complex. Etgar Keret ambivalentcomplexcomplexity Change image and share on social
It took a lot to understand that the interest in both writing a story and reading it is not in the objective dangers someone takes. You don't have to fight snakes or wake up in a strange apartment to have a story; it's about what goes on inside your mind and soul. Etgar Keret apartmentdangerfight share on social
Writing a story is kind of like surfing, as opposed to the novel, where you use a GPS to get somewhere. With surfing, you kind of jump. Etgar Keret jumpkindoppose Change image and share on social
When I started writing my stories, I thought that not only nobody outside my language, but nobody outside my neighbourhood would get them. Etgar Keret languageneighbourhoodstart Change image and share on social
