This book has been on my TBR shelf for months. It was one of those books that I felt I needed the time to be right before I read it. That time is now! I can identify with the sensation of being swallowed up by the madness in the world today.
The Swallowed Man is ostensibly a retelling of the Carlo Collodi fairytale, Pinocchio. Dear to my heart, as it was one of the earliest childhood books I read which was followed by a trip to the cinema to see the Disney interpretation of the book. Pinocchio has remained one of my favourite characters. I remember shaking hands with him at Disneyland, Paris was a great thrill! 🤣
Specifically this fiction looks at the time when Geppetto was swallowed by a sea creature, it seems to be a shark here rather than the Disney whale. Incarcerated within the belly of this creature, Geppetto, as he utilizes whatever he can find from the ship Maria that he finds swallowed up as well, reflects on his life and his losses, his “son“ Pinocchio , his lovers and his desire to recount his life, “I’m writing this account in another man’s book……”
The author has somehow captured the essence of Collodi’s original tale yet imbued it with his own unique style and nuances. It’s enthralling prose and together with the contemplative and deep musings on what it is to be a father, how the creative spirit drives throughout the most dire of circumstances and what effect protracted isolation can have on the mind and spirit the novel impresses as a work of substance in quality rather than quantity since it weighs in at under 200 pages.
Whilst it may seem as if it is a dark and unrelenting tale, there is something quite moving and beautiful about the story. I found it almost mesmerizing and it’s one of those books where I feel a strong desire to simply return to the beginning and read it all over again because I sense something profound within its pages.
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