The book is an emotionally charged account of what might happen if fairy tales start experiencing climate crisis. The story begins with expected confusion and chaos. Imagine water crisis in the world of Rapunzel! Titles of main characters change - There is No White - so do their energies. It is an intelligent retelling that delves with climate denial, toxic masculinity, climate anxiety, capitalist greed and climate grief. Many of these are either consequences of climate crisis or become even more exacerbated by the it. The story shows the ways in which these consequences impact. It treats you intelligently and leaves a lot of the reading to be done by the reader too. The illustrations complement the text in telling the story.
Some characters have been Indianised. Goldilocks wants Pyassam. Apart from the humour that this is able to add, I find it aligning with the immediacy of the crisis which is not just climate related. In naming Jasmine as Chameli but letting Snow Queen be Snow Queen, the text addressed some of the questions about publishers. It made me see that there are ways to be attentive to diverse and multicultural setting without compromising the element of fun or the real story. If at all it adds more nuance to the story. Many of problems were modern - for example, not being able to wash hair because of water crisis. But slowly the tone of the book shifted to issues in depth -- anxiety, unable to fall asleep or resolve conflicts. I particularly liked that the language was Indianized and it added much more nuances to the story. It helped me imagine the scene better.
It also addressed some difficult and complicated issues that global and local have been facing. It highlighted how indigenous populations that have contributed nothing to the climate crisis have been suffering the most. It was the resolution of the story that interested me and affected me on a profound level. It highlighted the power of stories and what visualisation of change can reflect as.
With characters voicing out "human world polluting our world…As their world changes... our stories also change" I couldn't help but wonder pay attention to stories that were being written in 2000s. There was a book called Aditi and the Thames Dragon I picked up from Delhi Public Library in 2023 and just reading the language could tell me that this is an old book but it is not talking about old times. Somehow that feeling wasn't about nostalgia - something which I would associate with reading Above Average perhaps. I am still trying to figure out what that it is. It was recognising that a shift has already taken place and that I might never be able to see the stories in a certain way. Writers will tell you how setting, character, motivations, time play a pivotal role in story making. Climate Change is affecting these. When Fairyland Lost its Magic shows quite literally how this time stories took turn for worse with setting focused on palm oil cultivation, factories, concrete, smog; character arcs depicting enterprising prince and princesses have begun profiting from that setting…stories evolve with time.
With evolve being a contentious word but something we can't really do away with.
My takeaway: "Natural world is so crucial to story making. Humans can't do without stories. Bestowing of gifts through each story. Every time someone opens a book in the Human World, a bit of our world step into theirs … That is how stories become real…a thing of wonder. Story and Sleep. For everyone."