I am writing this account, in another man’s book, by candlelight, inside the belly of a fish.

I have been eaten...

So begins this haunting reimagining of the damp, dismal years endured by Pinocchio's father when trapped within the belly of the shark. In absolute isolation and with no hope of escape, Geppetto's harrowing account of man in extremis becomes the perfect vessel for something rich, strange, and quintessentially human.

With unrivalled verbal ingenuity, dark imaginings and an organic capacity for wonder, Carey transmutes his fantastical source material into something entirely his own.

Edward Carey was born in Norfolk, England. He is a novelist, visual artist, playwright and director. He is the author of four novels, including Little, which was a Times and Sunday Times book of the year, and the YA series The Iremonger Trilogy. Edward lives in the United States and teaches at the University of Texas at Austin.