This book is small first of all. The area of text per page is 5.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The pages are small, and each story averages about 4 pages. But considering the size of the book (small) the stories end up being the equivalent to 1-2 more normal-sized pages, taking about 1-2 minutes to read each. The stories often jump right into the action, get right to the point and the heart of the story and then comes to some sort of conclusion, not always a pleasing one. A lot of the time it seems as though maybe keret had a much longer story, took 1-2 pages from the middle of that and threw it in this book. Most of the stories were unique ideas, and he seems to have a creative talent, though i feel that talent is not well developed in this book. Because the stories are so so short there is no time to actually care about the characters and what happens. Kind of like if you watch the first 10 minutes of a movie and then turn it off and walk away. You don't care about those characters because you were only with them for 10 minutes. Like the story of the boy and his piggybank. Kerat writes of a boy who wants a toy, but his father says no, earn the money yourself and gives him a piggybank. Boy grows fond of the piggybank, no longer wants the toy he is saving the money for. Sets the pig free in a field so his father won't smash it open for the money. That's the whole story. In the end i was thinking "ok, so what?" what was i supposed to get from that? Was i supposed to care? Get attached to a character i read about for 2 pages? I find most of the stories in this collection disappointing for the reason that the stories are too short and i feel, undeveloped, to really care about the characters and situations. Though keret has some unique stories and ideas, i find myself forgetting what some stories are about. Kerat would be best i think in a longer format, stories that are 10 pages or more, but to me, these 4 pagers just don't cut it.

Although wildly popular in his native Israel, this collection is the first of Keret's work to be published in the US. Two-thirds of the small book is given over to 22 equally small short stories, all ranging from 5-8 pages or so. These stories are difficult to characterize, although they generally feature alienated males (often children or teenagers), and the writing is universally deft and satirically witty with an underlying tone of irony and sorrow-occasionally drifting into unreality. Any description of them would not do them justice at all. I don't read enough American writers to think up a good comparison, although I would say Kerst shares some of Jonathan Lethem and Mark Jude Porier's territory. However, what the stories more similar to is some of the short fiction that came out of Scotland in the early to mid-'90s from people like Gordon Legge, Duncan McLean, and James Kelman, who also write very brief stories. Perhaps most of all, the book bears comparison to the absurdist fables of another Scot, Magnus Mills (All Quiet on the Orient Express, The Restraint of Beasts, Three To See The King). The novella which occupies the final third of the book, "Kneller's Happy Campers", about the afterlife of those who commit suicide, is especially redolent of Mills' odd and affecting mix of black humor and fantasy. The collection is drawn and translated from Keret's bestselling collections in Israel, and one can only hope that more makes it into English and across the shores.

The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God by Etgar Keret is a real fun book with substance created by the author's own unique style. He captures his readers attention immediately with his original style and talent . Brilliant plots, captivating characters, biting yet very precise images unfold a real innovative creativity.

Five short stories by author Etgar Keret are adapted into graphic novellas in Jetlag, by the five-member Israeli comics collective known as Actus Tragicus. What's most impressive about this beautiful full-color collection of comics is its eerie, bizzare tone, which unites all five tales despite radical shifts in drawing and storytelling style. I especially liked Yirmi Pinkus' bittersweet "Margolis", about a small boy and his beloved piggy bank, and Mira Friedmann's oddly sinister "Passage to Hell". The three remaining entries, by Itzik Rennert, Rutu Modan, and Batia Kolton, are also very entertaining. This is my first introduction to the work of this wildly talented group, and I look forward to seeing more.

Etgar Keret is one of the most inspiringly fresh new voices in fiction today. His short stories are perfect capsules of prose.

In Jetlag 5, he combines his storyteller's charm with the colourful genius of some of Israels best comic artists.

The unique take that each artist brings to Keret's stories create an atmosphere of experimentation and intelligence.

Jetlag 5 ranks as one of the best graphic novels to appear on the literary scene.