Issue #312 / February 2025
Your Desert Island Discs programme had me glued to my radio. I was interested in your choice of Pinocchio as your chosen book. Have you read The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey? Such a unique telling of Geppetto’s thoughts from inside the belly of the whale with brilliant illustrations. Well worth a read if you haven’t already.
LIZ, NOTTINGHAM, UK
ILLUSTRATION BY IRENE RINALDI
You’ll enjoy this article as a Pinocchio fan—The Transformations of Pinocchio in The New Yorker.
JUSTIN, BRISTOL, UK
Dear Liz and Justin,
In issue #51, I wrote about Pinocchio and the profound impact that the story of Geppetto inside the whale had on me. I haven’t read The Swallowed Man, but I have just ordered it. It will arrive tomorrow. Justin, I read The New Yorker article you recommended with great interest.
Annoyingly, I’ve come down with an evil flu, which has left me bedridden and scarcely able to do much more than write this brief letter – and, of course, read.
I look forward to reading the book during my convalescence. I appreciate that the readers of The Red Hand Files send book recommendations. These days, most of my reading stems from such suggestions. You guys are the best.
Love, Nick