Pinnochio is one of my favorite children's books. Like many of the great children's stories that have survived history, it is a lot darker than most people realize. In fact, it's a vicious little bastard of a book, and screamingly funny in places. It was from my re-reading of the Gutenberg edition of the text that I was inspired to write my short story Return to Pleasure Island), which appears in my new short-story collection.
Now, Tor Books has brought out a beautiful new edition of the public-domain text of the novel, deisgned by Chesley-Award-winning art director Irene Gallo (who is astonishingly good at her job, and who has a special fondness for this book, I'm told), and lavishly (and I do mean lavishly) illustrated by Gris Grimly, in sepia-toned macabre ink drawings that are as angular and jocularly grim as the text itself. I got a copy of the book in the mail last week, and I've laid aside the book I'm supposed to be reading to read this one — to devour it again. It's wonderful to have this brilliant text married to this brilliant package.
