4.25/5

This is my 4th ARC, and the first one I've given above 3 stars. The curse has been lifted! The author is new to me, and I mainly chose this book from the "Read Now" section of NetGalley because of the title and the mention of surrealism in the blurb. I am a big fan of surrealism and magical realism, and while these stories would be considered quite "light" in that universe, and not every story falls into those genres, they did not disappoint. All revolve around relationships - from romantic relationships to friendships - yet do not feel repetitive.

I also enjoyed getting a glimpse into everyday Israeli life and settings in several stories, without that necessarily being what the stories themselves were about. It's not a country or culture I know much about. And if I'm not imagining it, there seemed to be some VERY subtle threads connecting some stories - cake, wolf howls, eating chocolate, things of that nature - that seemed intentional.

Anyhow, I'm going to do my best not to give away any spoilers. I was delighted and impressed by this collection. Not every story worked for me, but a disproportionate number very much did -

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Only One of Us Gets the Byline 3/5: A journalist is taking notes about a corpse that washed up on the beach while recalling a failed date. This one was okay, but the juxtaposition didn't really work for me.

Dutch Monkey Dreams 3.5/5: A meeting with a married friend at a donut shop leads the protagonist to imagine their spouses meeting and falling in love as they catch up - a nice little daydream as advertised. Good.

Don Bellushi and the Goat 4.25/5: A man tries to remove a goat from a field, gets divorced, then attends his ex wife's wedding. Unexpected! It twists how reality is described rather than reality itself. I liked this one a lot.

The Trip to Beersheba 5/5: A 5 star rating is rare for me. This one was great! A man with a new girlfriend buys her an ice cream cone 2 hours before he is supposed to meet up with her, and this is the story of his very strange bus ride. The weirdest one so far. I loved everything about it.

Jesus' First Motorcycle 4.5/5: While having supper with his friends, Jesus decides he wants to perform the miracle of creating and riding a red motorcycle. I really enjoyed this one (which is saying something as I am generally burned out on fiction involving Christian myths). Original and fun.

Haviva 5/5: This one is not surreal, just both a feel good story and sad at the same time; emotional realism. This one made me cry. Excellent.

Bo 3.75/5: Bo has worked at an iron cutting factory for 7 years, today he is dismissed. This one is written almost like a documentary of someone following Bo and narrating his day - this is entertaining and works quite well. The story starts off strong but fizzles out a bit for me near the end.

Olson's Sweetheart 4.25/5: A group of soldiers take shelter in a store at the end of a war, one of the fallen has a box of chocolates given to him by his girlfriend in his bag. I think riveting is the best word to describe this one - I don't usually enjoy war stories yet I was immersed. The ending took a turn I'm not certain how to feel about, but a strong entry.

Avi's Swedish Opera 3.5/5: A writer enjoys singing opera from his balcony in his spare time, especially the one he wrote about Avi from Avi's Grocery, whose wife left him to move to Sweden with the kids. Good, but didn't strike me very strongly.

Ella 3.75/5: Ella is a woman nearing forty who likes to fish, she catches a goldfish and makes three wishes. I think with this one I was a little disappointed because the set up promised more magical realism than was delivered. A nice, reflective, and thoughtful story - but I wanted more surreal elements.

The Right Flowers 4.25/5: A man looks for flowers to buy a woman he just started dating who is roughly twice his age (she is 97). It's interesting because most of the story is about the woman, but really ends up being a brief character study of the man. I enjoyed this one.

She-Wolf 3.25/5: A grandmother turns into a she-wolf. I wish this one had been a bit longer and more fleshed out. I enjoyed it, but it felt more like a snippet of a story versus a full story.

Anger in the Pockets 4.75/5: Uncle Arik buys a new pair of pants and suddenly becomes more agreeable. This one was great on multiple levels, mostly realism but somewhat uncanny. The ending made me smile.

The Collectors 4.5/5: A couple watch lit candles falling from the sky. The imagery in this one was amazing.

Sky Jellyfish 4.25/5: A woman wears an enormous dress that the town's children like to play under. I loved the framing of this story, which was really about childhood friendships. Probably my favorite use of magical realism in the collection.

The Bag is There 3.75/5: A man literally puts all of his emotions into his wife's carry on bag. Not a bad close to the collection, though the ending was not my favorite.

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Jolles mostly writes middle grade fiction, but has a couple of other books written for adults - I have already added them to my TBR. Looking forward to more from this author!