The Swallowed Man

This is a little gem of a book. Starting with the illustrations, passing through the story and finishing up with the eye opener that is mental health. Well, at least that is how I took it.
This is the story of Geppetto when he is swallowed by the whale. It is his narration of all that happens during his time in the belly of the beast; from procuring shelter, to creating art from the trinkets he finds, to the dark places the mind goes to when all you have are regrets and doubts.
As the story progresses, it gets darker and darker. There are funny moments and deeply sad ones too. I loved every minute of it!
Please do not miss this one. It’s different and quite memorable.

What a strange and imaginative story! This is the memoir of Geppetto, Pinocchio's father. Geppetto is trapped in the belly of the giant fish and is writing about his life, how he came to carve Pinocchio, the rocky relationship they had and his strong love for his wooden son. Nicely illustrated, too.

Geppetto is a great character, relaying his failures and small successes, as well as his fears for himself and his son. The last part of the book is not in Geppetto's voice and I missed a sense of closure....but not in a bad way....in a way that underscored how much I came to care about the man.

This is a bitter-sweat continuation of the Pinocchio story. Pinocchio's "father, Geppetto, is trapped in the belly of a giant fish where he is able to find shelter, a box of candles, and provisions within a small ship the fish had also swallowed. While trapped, he keeps busy with his memories of Pinocchio as well as the creation of new art.

Adjectives that come to my mind when trying to describe this book? Odd and strange are the first to come to mind. Carey has written the memoir of Geppetto, the creator of Pinocchio, as Geppetto lives his life in the belly of the huge fish that has swallowed him. Luckily, there is a ship which also has been swallowed in the fish’s belly for Geppetto to live on. This fish exile gives him a chance to ponder his treatment of his wooden son. There is humor but basically it is a dark story about the responsibility of fathers.

audiobook - imaginative fiction - as written by a character trapped inside a giant sea monster, some of which is fantastical, and other parts of which are quite delusional. Features a skillfully animated narration provided by the author himself, which at times was quite frantic and intense - not a peaceful/relaxing story, but one that is sure to make your commute hours skip along much more quickly.

Edward Carey's The Swallowed man is a highly originally deeply-strange all-engrossing novel-art-book. The Swallowed man follows the time that Geppetto spends in the belly of the Great Fish. Totally unputdownable and thoroughly rewarding.