There are three stories in the book. Whether it is inadvertently helping a rock band with screening a documentary in ‘The Heebee Jeebees and the Bees’; making it through a Halloween trip to Ooty and finding themselves in the middle of a bank heist and a haunted home in ‘The Halloween Adventure’
The illustrations expand the text in surprising ways, offering depictions beyond the familiar. We meet a mermaid in a wheelchair, a mer-guy cooking for his companion, a plump mermaid, and even glimpses of the lagoon’s fraught history of conflict and disaster. These visual choices enrich the narrative and push the boundaries of what mermaid stories can be.
The narrative created unfolds with brisk pacing and carefully planted twists, with each chapter closing on a note that propels the reader forward; with each hand on the chapter headings almost beckoning the reader onward.
Thematically, the novel revolves around solidarity and exclusion. The Freezies comprehend in Christaki a mirror of their dislocation. Friendship with him is a granting of symbolic asylum. Dhondy employs that friendship to offer us a reflection on asylum and sympathy.
From an educational perspective, the book opens up discussions about the Irula tribe, Dr. N. Kalyani, and the lives of all tribal communities living in forests. The poem conveys compassion for animals and nature. It sparks curiosity and sensitivity among children—especially those from rural or marginalized backgrounds.
‘Mahesh ka Saanp-Prem’ is an interesting anecdote about Mahesh’s love of, and living with snakes since his childhood, carrying them to school and taking them for a ride on his motorcycle. Mahesh doesn’t just keep snakes as a hobby; he builds an entire world around them. His separate house, his carefully designed pots with air holes, his daily routine of taking each snake for a walk—all these details turn his fascination into a way of life.