Aristotle’s Cuttlefish

A story about mislaid umbrellas, questionable scientific theories and unlikely friendship - from the author of Flake, winner of the 2020 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize

Where do all the lost things go?

In Dobbiston, they'll likely end up in the care of Mr Daniels, the long-time custodian of the local lost property office. Somewhere deep in the bowels of the town council's shabby premises he has spent a lifetime quietly cataloguing the carelessness of his fellow Dobbiston residents.

But when something unexpected interrupts his routine, Mr Daniels is forced to embrace a little bit of life's chaos.

Told through Lost Property Office vignettes - a snooker cue love story, a granny’s tea cosy and a kid’s toy on an intergalactic adventure – local histories are elevated to the momentous and profound, drawn with playful nostalgia and Dooley’s deadpan wit.

About the Author

Matthew Dooley won the Cape/Observer Graphic Short Story Prize and his debut FLAKE, published by Cape in 2020, went on to win the Wodehouse Bollinger Prize, the first time for a graphic novel. It was also a Guardian Book of the Year.


He is from the north-west of England and now lives in London.