Before I start the normal process of critiquing and analyzing this story, for it's tone and characters and every typical reason someone reviews a piece of fiction, I need to drop my professionalism to say that this is without a doubt the weirdest book I have ever read. Pinocchio is one of Italy's most famous fairy tales, maybe even its most famous, and while reading it I felt it was a mix of fairy tale and outright absurdism. I enjoy absurdism, such as absurdist comedy or the style of play fiction called absurdist theatre. With years of absurdist entertainment under my belt, I still say Pinocchio is the weirdest book I have ever read, and perhaps the weirdest piece of media I have ever partaken. It is not the most nonsensical, simply the weirdest.
Pinocchio started life as a cautionary tale for children. So much so that originally, author Carlo Collodi had Pinocchio die from his brush with the assassins who try to rob him of his gold. He recovered and the story became longer, due to the original ending receiving backlash from readers. Whilst the ending was changed, the story never let up on Pinocchio needing to learn his lesson about being a good boy. It is not a spoiler anymore to say that the end goal is that he would stop being a puppet and become a human boy, but this goal only exists near the end. The lesson is from the very beginning of the story, it is simply that the stated goal is different depending on which section of the story you are reading. Mostly, the reason is simply that Pinocchio should behave himself.
Collodi's moral is, at times, less about being a good behaved little boy who obeys the rules, and more about what he knows and believes about society. The moral is a form of social commentary. The story explicitly states that Pinocchio is only being whiny and lazy, and that this is a major problem he needs to grow out of. When he refuses to go to school, he is chastised for taking the easy way out and not caring about becoming smarter. When he refuses again, he is told that if that is how he really feels, than he needs to get a job instead like a respectable member of society. When Pinocchio refuses both of these things, and claims he'd rather do nothing but beg for what he wants, he is told only the elderly and the infirm have the right to beg. The person who tells him this is his father Geppetto, who himself is an older person, who is poor but working. The story quite honestly handles this message well. By having a conservation between two fully written characters saying what they would honestly say, it does not feel like a straw-man argument, and it becomes hard to disagree with Geppetto, as it is clear Pinocchio isn't truly strong on his convictions and is only looking for an easy way out.
Pinocchio is one of the most bizarre heroes I've come across. The majority of the time he is a selfish child, realistically so. He does wise-up, several times, only for his old habits and stupidity to come right back and put him in the original position he was once in. I said this story is the weirdest thing I've ever read, and Pinocchio himself may be the least intelligent protagonist I've ever invested my time with. You don't so much root for him, as you hope that this time he's finally figured it out for real. In that way, he is like a child or a young adult. He does know better, and he wants to do better, but he will give up his intelligence at the drop of a hat if he is tempted hard enough. At times, you aren't hoping he's changed for his sake, you're doing it because you want the people who love him to no longer have to bare the burdens he causes.
Allow me to describe how roughly half of the scenarios play out in this story. It starts with someone saying what they are going to do, be it a wise decision or an outright evil one. The other character states they should do the opposite instead. The first character declines. The second character states again what should be done instead. Suddenly the first character agrees with them.
It's practically a running joke, and I am not exaggerating how it is about half of the story. This is how Pinocchio is always tempted, this is how Pinocchio always gets out of trouble, and this is how Pinocchio always supposedly learns a lesson.
There is a bit where Pinocchio is held captive by a puppeteer named Fireeater. Fireeater states that because Pinocchio has bothered him, he is going to throw him in the fire so he can cook his mutton. Pinocchio and the other puppets object, and Fireeater cries, saying he is in fact a nice person and realizes he could never do that to Pinocchio.
Fireeater then states he still needs a better fire, so he will use one of his other puppets instead. He, Pinocchio, and the other puppets convince him again in the exact same way and with the exact same outcome. Fireeater figures he is going to eat his mutton half raw, and the readers have just sat through the exact same bit twice in a row. Somehow, it works.
It's late to mention this now, but in the world of Pinocchio, everything talks. There's a kind cricket whom Pinocchio accidentally kills, and then comes back as a ghost. There's the kind fairy that starts out as the living corpse of a little girl, and then suddenly becomes a fully grown woman who promises to be Pinocchio's mother if he behaves himself. There's a terrible dogfish, a police dog, the aforementioned puppets of Fireeater, a Fox and a Cat who try to cheat Pinocchio out of his money, and yet for some reason, it is revealed that donkeys have their own language when everything else was speaking English. Or whichever language that copy of the story is written.
For a simple morality tale, Pinocchio takes levels of absurdity and makes it all work. On the one hand, I do not know if I can recommend the story if you are already familiar with any of the adaptations. I suspect it may be harder to follow for some, and those who were not expecting a dark tale might be in for a shock. Even without blood, there are still scenes of limb removal on at least two occasions, and death simply seems to be common place and barely a big deal. Not to mention the above possible running gag, which could very easily become boring and tired to several readers. Especially since you can read the entire story in one sitting, which I did.
However. If you wish to read something incredible bizarre. Lacking in sense and yet making sense. A story that does not back off from it's moral for one second, and is made stronger because of the fact. Then, yes, I do highly recommend the original Pinocchio. We roughly all know the basic story, but I don't know if any of us can know what to expect until we read it for ourselves. I understand not wanting the confusion, but if you are remotely curious, give it a chance. There is, perhaps, nothing like it.