The narrowest home in the world is finally occupied, as proud Israeli owner Etgar Keret moved into the residence last week. The writer invited media into his small apartment Friday, ending months of talk over how the Warsaw-based home would function. The flat was built in a thin space between two buildings, measuring between 4 feet and 2.5 feet wide throughout the floor space. "Art is a place where your imagination leads you," he told reporters. "First was the idea of an architect, Jakub Szczesny, then the …More

Author Nathan Englander recently received the 2012 Frank O’Conner International Short Story Award for his latest collection, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.” He spoke with JTA about the impact of his Jewish education, the challenges of translation and why he’s simply an American writer -- no qualification needed. JTA: Have you read “The Diary of Anne Frank?” Nathan Englander: I’m a yeshiva boy, and when I grew up there was so much about the Holocaust. …More

Israeli writer Etgar Keret will get the keys to the narrowest house in Warsaw. The house, which will measure between approximately 2 1/2 feet and 4 feet wide at different points, is an artistic project undertaken by architect Jakub Szczesny and the Foundation of Modern Art. Keret is expected to get the keys to what has been dubbed the Keret House, which will be built in the gap between the buildings at 22 Chlodna St. and 74 Zelazna St. in October. Keret's mother was born in Warsaw near the place where the house …More

“Tell me a story,” commands the first sentence of Etgar Keret’s “Suddenly, a Knock on the Door.” Three men with guns and cleavers command Keret to entertain them in the opening title, continuing, “Don’t you go and dump reality on us like a rubbish truck. Use your imagination, man, create, invent, take it all the way.” And Keret does just that, with 35 tales of the absurd, heartrending and most human of emotions transmuted through the magical lens of his unique …More