Synopses & Reviews
Dazzlingly witty”
CYNTHIA OZICKOtherwise Fables is the first complete collection of Oscar Mandels fiction, including the Gobble-Up Stories and the novellas The History of Sigismund, Prince of Poland, and Chi Po and the Sorcerer. As witty as Sedaris and as profound as Calderón, Mandels little moral tales are full of unexpected points, deep lessons, ethical ambiguity, and dry wit. Slyly subversive tales of magicians, princes, and animals will delight readers young and old with intellectually sophisticated examples of philosophical allegory and compelling storytelling. Mandels timeless tales raise challenging questions of modern culture with panache, charm, and magic.
Oscar Mandel is a Belgian-born American author and professor emeritus of literature at the California Institute of Technology. His fabulist fiction has been widely staged and his many published works range across the fields of poetry, drama, fiction, the essay, literary scholarship and theory, translations (especially from French and German), and art history. He lives in Paris, France, and Los Angeles, California.
Review
Praise for Otherwise FablesDoses of James Thurbers wit, a little of Marcel Aymes paradoxical thought, some of Aesops powerful simplicity, and even a dash of Umberto Ecos literary aphorisms. . . . [Mandel] infuses his writing with the idea of two faces, much like Janus, the Roman god of passages and bridges who is often depicted as looking both at the future and the past. And so like Janus, Mandel reveals himself to be a great bridge constructor in the philosophical dimension of writing.” Necessary Fiction
Shrouded in the form of fantastical fairy tales, Mandels complete collection of fictions utilizes a simple, concise writing style combined with a characteristically irreverent wit to impart the wisdom of age-old morals while entertaining the reader with story lines full of implausibly magical situations. Mandel proves that fables, and the lessons within them, stretch beyond the realm of childhood.” World Literature Today
Oscar Mandel, heir to Aesop and La Fontaine, uses animals in order to point up our idiosyncrasies, expose our cowardice and highlight, with certain indulgence, our venial sins. No one is safe from the mischievous gaze of this Belgian . . . who writes equally well in English and French. Browsing through these . . . snapshots of the human condition will provoke knowing smiles and laughter.” Air France Magazine
Magical. . . . Mandel has mastered the art of spinning a world with words. . . . [Otherwise Fables is] refreshing because it is the type of delightful, smart work that is ageless.” Jewish Book World
Mandels fiction does a nice job of blending a classic storytelling voice with a slyly modern sensibility, producing stories that work as fables while still having a little fun with the genres conventions. . . . Taken together, the three works in Otherwise Fables show a writer with an ear for storytelling and a willingness to keep an older style fresh.” ForeWord Reviews
More Praise for the Fabulist Fiction of Oscar Mandel
Indirect, subliminal magic.” New York Times Book Review
Strong, sophisticated stories.” Chicago Tribune
Joyfulness and simple wisdom.” San Francisco Chronicle
Delightful little tales, best described as modern Aesop fables.” Hollywood Reporter
Catering to us closet thinkers who find intellectual intercourse a wholly satisfying pleasure.” Los Angeles Times
Refreshing, witty and thoroughly engaging.” International New York Times
Mandels present-day, tongue-in-cheek fables are worthy descendants of Aesop and La Fontaine.” Hartford Courant
Slyly witty and highly sophisticated . . . keeps the audience chuckling.” Pasadena Star-News
Dazzlingly witty” CYNTHIA OZICK
Synopsis
Arresting and humorous, these collected fictions of Belgian scholar Oscar Mandel include forty-six short fables and two longer tales.
Synopsis
-Dazzlingly witty- --CYNTHIA OZICK
Otherwise Fables is the first complete collection of Oscar Mandel's fiction, including the Gobble-Up Stories and the novellas The History of Sigismund, Prince of Poland, and Chi Po and the Sorcerer. As witty as Sedaris and as profound as Calderon, Mandel's little moral tales are full of unexpected points, deep lessons, ethical ambiguity, and dry wit. Slyly subversive tales of magicians, princes, and animals will delight readers young and old with intellectually sophisticated examples of philosophical allegory and compelling storytelling. Mandel's timeless tales raise challenging questions of modern culture with panache, charm, and magic.
Oscar Mandel is a Belgian-born American author and professor emeritus of literature at the California Institute of Technology. His fabulist fiction has been widely staged and his many published works range across the fields of poetry, drama, fiction, the essay, literary scholarship and theory, translations (especially from French and German), and art history. He lives in Paris, France, and Los Angeles, California.
Synopsis
"Dazzlingly witty" -- CYNTHIA OZICK
Otherwise Fables is the first complete collection of Oscar Mandel's fiction, including the Gobble-Up Stories and the novellas The History of Sigismund, Prince of Poland, and Chi Po and the Sorcerer. As witty as Sedaris and as profound as Calder n, Mandel's little moral tales are full of unexpected points, deep lessons, ethical ambiguity, and dry wit. Slyly subversive tales of magicians, princes, and animals will delight readers young and old with intellectually sophisticated examples of philosophical allegory and compelling storytelling. Mandel's timeless tales raise challenging questions of modern culture with panache, charm, and magic.
Synopsis
This is the complete collection of Oscar Mandel's fiction, including the Gobble-Up Stories, Chi Po and the Sorcerer, and The History of Sigismund, Prince of Poland. The products of a life spent learning and thinking, these stories offer surprising insight into the human condition through fables and fanciful tales rooted in philosophy. Drawing on the French narrative form of the conte and following in the fabulist traditions of Jean de La Fontaine, Edmond Rostand, and Pedro Calderón, Mandel challenges the reader with glowing prose, a sly wit, and ethical ambiguity couched in delicious and amusing tales of animals, princes, and kings.
Oscar Mandel is a Belgian-born American author and professor emeritus of literature at the California Institute of Technology. His many published works range across the fields of poetry, drama, fiction, the essay, literary scholarship and theory, translations (especially from French and German), and art history. He splits his time between Paris, France, and Los Angeles, California.
About the Author
Oscar Mandel is an acclaimed Belgian-born American author, scholar, and playwright who has published on numerous topics in English and French. He has written on the subject of literary theory and art history, translated plays, and authored poetry, drama, and fiction. He is professor emeritus of literature at the California Institute of Technology, having taught there for more than forty years. He lives in Paris, France, and Los Angeles, California.