“Before I started publishing books, I wrote dedications only in the ones I bought to give as gifts to people I knew. Then one day I suddenly found myself signing books for people who’d bought them themselves, people I’d never met before. What can you write in the book of a total stranger who might be anything from a serial killer to a Righteous Gentile? ‘In Friendship,’ borders on falsehood; ‘With Admiration,’ doesn’t hold water; ‘Best Wishes’ sounds too avuncular; and ‘Hope you enjoy my book!’ oozes smarm from the capital H to the final exclamation point. So, exactly 18 years ago, on the last night of my first Book Week, I created my own genre: fictitious book dedications. If the books themselves are pure fiction, why should the dedications be true?”
Over at Tablet, Etgar Keret gives a hilarious look at the crazy (and false) dedications he’s written in fans’ books over the years.
