Pulse is Barnes’s 17th book and is a masterclass in the shorter form.

Julian Barnes writes so exquisitely that every page of this collection contains literary pearls

All the stories in Pulse have the absolute completeness and density of the very best short fiction

Masterclasses in the form, full of the sidelong wit and intelligence that make the writer one of our most consistently deft short-form stylists

Barnes' stylish prose, eye for emotional detail and sense of absurdity never let him down... He suits the short story very well

The prose is crisp and elegant, light on its feet but resonant with pathos, and flecked with acute observations that never fail to strike a vivid chord with the reader.... It all makes for a diverse, entertaining collection, alternating between plangency and playfulness

Keret's surreal conceits are couched in a wry, downbeat language...The effect is something like a sorrowful hybrid of Kafka and Donald Barthelme: deadpan on the surface, with a bassnote of discomfort and emotional alienation that makes even the briefest tales snag in the mind...Each piece is at once universal and particular...world-class gems. The translation is brilliant, too

Etgar Keret is the voice of young Israel

One of the greatest short story writers alive

One of the most important writers alive... enchantingly witty

Etgar Keret's extraordinary imagination sets the reader free from slogans and headlines

One of the greatest short story writers alive