PositiveContraryKeret’s use of first-person point-of-view lessens the distance between reader and character. Most of the stories are in this perspective, each one flowing into the next in a way that they could almost all be about the same person, but for subtle differences. This makes the stories personal, like the characters are speaking directly to the readers, but also universal. When those stories are stripped down, they could happen to anyone of us. As a result, they feel uncomfortably close ... When looking back at the book in hindsight, it feels even more cohesive than when I was initially reading it. Some of the stories flew by while others stuck with me until long after I read them, but all of them made me stop to absorb them completely when I finished them. Fly Already is the type of book whose meaning will change for you depending on where you are in life. Different stories and characters will speak to you and you will take from it what you need. Altogether, I welcome the discomfort that Keret’s stories gave me and I look forward to coming back to it to see what else it can give me.
