The last sentence of this book enjoins the reader - who the author addresses as 'my little man' throughout - 'you are not to believe any of this book, even if it is true.'
No one has ever written a book like this, and in some ways it is hard to believe that it is no longer available in print, in its entirety. On the other hand, it is filled with dated allusions - the last chapter refers to 'a certain new lunatic asylum' that the reader is obviously supposed to know about, for example. Moreover, there are disparaging references to Jews, Afro-Americans and, especially, Americans. At one point, something called a Powwow man appears, and this person 'dance[s] corrobory [sic] like any black fellow.' But I get ahead of myself.
The bald outline of the story is probably well enough known. A chimneysweep called Tom drowns (although this is never spelled out explicitly) and becomes something called a water baby, several inches long, that travels across land and sea for many years before he can be redeemed and become a man. His master, the aptly named Mr Grimes, a drunkard with little regard for the welfare of his charges, is similarly redeemed but only partially so, and the book leaves him sweeping the crater of Mt Etna, presumably an endless task.
On his way to rebirth, Tom meets all sorts of living creatures - a fairy with a photograph album filled with colour photos, unknown when the book was published, a sea dwelling creature obsessively possessive of the gold in its realm (yes, I thought of that too), talking turnips who were formerly children who studied too hard, a Buddhist bat, policeman's truncheons that can move by themselves without arms or legs and use their thongs for hanging themselves up. Tom travels across ground made of bad toffee, and oceans galore, and meets characters like Mother Carey, Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby, Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid, and the enchanting girl, Ellie, who eventually becomes his lifetime mate.
Comparisons with Alice in Wonderland and the work of Edward Lear are inevitable. This one is every bit as weird, I am sure, and even the obscure contemporary references are probably worth a Google if you have time. For those in search of something really different, this is highly recommended.
Rating: 8 out of 10.
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