Further Up the Path

by Daniel Oz, Jessica Cohen (translator)

Presented bilingually with a new English translation by Man Booker Prize-winning translator Jessica Cohen, these brief fables by Israeli author Daniel Oz engage with vast concepts about human nature. Full of timeless, open-ended parables, Further Up the Path offers no answers, moralizing, or only an uneasy bewilderment with the paradoxes of the human―and animal―condition.

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2019

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of microfables translated from Hebrew, and is absolutely a must read for the fall. Each page stands alone, sometimes with only a few lines of text. Sometimes absurd, sometimes inspiring, but always beautiful, many of these stories read like prose poems, with both the story and the translation lending themselves to an incredible book.

[Claudia Skelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains a flash fable as the reader turns each page, with the English translation as well as the original Hebrew text created by Israeli author Daniel Oz.

Each fable deals with many concepts of human nature and the various conditions that face animals and humans, both past and present. Some of these short fables are inspiring, some encourage a re-read, and many are like prose poems. I am glad to have read this book and give it 3.5 stars.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of brief “flash” fables by Israeli author Oz. Reprinted in both English and the original Hebrew, the various fables are sometimes funny, whimsical, insightful, poignant, sad and or dark. Many are quite memorable. As one reader noted, “some of these short fables are inspiring, some encourage a re-read, and many are like prose poems.” This was a quick, enjoyable read.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhh, yeah, so the answer is yes, the author did in fact inherit his father's gift of writing. This is such a great book, I love the unique idea of the "flash fable," I love the language of each one, the variation, how the same group of friends are sometimes mentioned throughout, giving it a kind of continuity. I love that they have heart and goodness, and a repeated thread of empathy towards animals. If books were like food and wine and had pairings, I would pair this with Welcome to Night Vale (another tale where surface-level bizarre events are metaphorical for how real events actually feel, making them ring even more true than reality) and The Alchemist and The Archer by Paulo Coelho, which it's possible one might also call flash fables. If what I can see is really true that this was published after Amos Oz's death, I sincerely hope he was still able to read them before they were published and witness his son's totally original artistry. I'd like to shake Daniel by the shoulders while demanding to know why he isn't hugely famous yet-- why there's only one book. Young and busy? Drop everything, write many more books, poetry, anything.

[Arianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection of short stories translated from the Hebrew. The English translation was on one page and the Hebrew was on the other page. I've never read a collection of stories like this. Each story was only a paragraph long, yet they were complete thoughts and so well executed. I would like to seek out more work like this.

[Meg]

Bite sized