Soman Chainani
About Author
Soman Chainani has written numerous screenplays and his recent work includes the upcoming feature musical MUMBO JUMBO for Aardman Animation (WALLACE & GROMIT, FLUSHED AWAY, CHICKEN RUN), and the adaptation of children's book THE PUSHCART WAR for Jane Startz Productions. Soman lives in the US.
Author link
Interview
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL: A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES
HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN'S BOOKS
MAY 2014
A World Without Princes is the second story in The School for Good and Evil series; the first book debuted as a New York Times bestseller last year. The fabled School for Good and Evil is where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy-tale heroes and villains. In book one we followed best friends Sophie and Agatha who underwent their own training at the school before choosing an unorthodox 'Happy Ever After'.
At the start of the second book, we find Agatha is having second thoughts about the ending she chose with her friend Sophie. Agatha is growing up and finds she misses the prince she left behind and makes a wish which sees her and Sophie catapulted back to the School for Good and Evil, where they discover the disastrous consequences of their earlier choices.
We asked author Soman Chainani to tell us more about what inspired him to explore the world of fairy tales through the School for Good and Evil.
Q: What did you think of fairy tales as a child? Did you have a favourite?
A: As a child, I was quite thrilled by the original Grimms stories versus the Disney versions. I'm still flummoxed as to how the original fairy tales were suitable for children two hundred years ago - and why we serve them the warmed-over, sanitized versions now.
With THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, then, I wanted to start in that kind of world with true consequences - and where there is balance between Good or Evil (which is in fact the reality of our world today. Balance might even be called optimistic.) And I wanted to deal with the notion that Good has been winning everything... and what did that mean? Why does Good always win these days in stories? And is that what children really need to learn?
Perhaps by asking these questions, we can start to write our own modern day fairy tales that find the anxieties of today's children - and offer them a survival guide that will stay relevant long into their adulthood.
As for my favourite tale, it's definitely Hansel and Gretel - because it feels so deeply real in its threat. Gretel has to survive a terrifying situation and save her brother, with poise, skill, and wit. I also love that witch in the story: she's just incredibly clever. She wants to eat children - so to lure them she builds a house out of what they eat.
Q: Do you think Disney been good or bad news for fairy tales, since it has helped to keep the stories alive?
A: The problem with the Disney films is it often stops at nothing to give the characters a happy ending, even when they've made poor choices. Look at Ariel, who chases a prince she barely knows, gives up her family, relinquishes her own _voice_... and is rewarded for it.
In the original tale, of course, she dies unfulfilled and miserable because of that mistake. But in Disney, she gets her wedding, her family, her friends, her prince, and is none the wiser for it. The moral of the story becomes: look pretty, don't say anything intelligent, and wait for your prince to save you. And many of the stories are like that. I hope that in THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, we begin to at least present true consequences to bad choices.
Q: When you were studying fairy tales at university, was there one that stood out for you for any particular reason?
A: In Cinderella, the stepsisters are so desperate to fit their feet into the shoes (prince-chasers and fame-hunters to the extreme, the Kardashians of the 1800s perhaps), that they're willing to cut off their own toes with a carving knife, trying to squeeze into the glass slipper. In Peter Pan, Peter kills any Lost Boy who gets too old, as he's desperate to keep those around him young and prevent anyone from growing up. These little details are what make the original fairy tales so honest and surprising and smart. And yet... we most often remove these details from our retellings.
Q: You get under the skin of fairy tales in this book and explore sexism in the stories. Do you think that fairy tales are inherently sexist or is that the result of modern reinterpretations of them?
A: Fairy tales aren't sexist in the slightest, if you look at the original versions. They reward cleverness over beauty and integrity over any sort of shallow, vapid image. I think Sleeping Beauty truly is the most warped retelling because in the original story, the kiss doesn't wake her up and she's ultimately betrayed by her prince. The lesson being, of course, that you can't expect a man to save you while you sleep through life. Nowadays, we tell the story with the complete opposite message.
Q: At the start of the novel you show us that 'happy ever after' doesn't really exist and that choices have consequences - do you feel that we're too inclined to expect a 'happy ever after'?
A: I think in literature, we expect our heroes to find a happy ending - and once they've learned a lesson, to be fine for the rest of their lives.
What I'm appalled by is that our heroes aren't allowed to make new mistakes. When Agatha starts having remorse for Tedros at the beginning of Book 2, it's not because she's regressed - it's because she's growing up. Some of us might see it as a 'mistake,' but it's just a new turn in her evolution. Her Ever After is undone simply by a growth into adolescence. And that's how all of life is. We think we've found happiness, only to realize we need something else or we need more or we don't need anything at all.
Q: How hard was it to create and maintain that quite intense female relationship between Agatha and Sophie?
A: Oh, I just reflect back what I see in the world. Until high school, girls are often inseparable. The way they honour each other as best friends is truly inspiring and seemingly indefatigable. Then a boy often enters the picture and things go haywire. I wanted to capture that moment when two girls are brought to a crossroads by a boy.
Q: And how much fun was it putting a girl into a boy's body?
A: An absolute blast. Isn't that every girl's secret fantasy? To be a boy for a day or more? Just to see what it's like? And there's certainly boys in girl's bodies in the book as well, though I think they'd likely be a bit more surreptitious about it. Just writing the passages where Sophie is a boy felt so charged and alive, because it felt like something I had to feel my way through. It was creative exploration at its most energizing.
Q: There's a big 'supporting cast' of fairy tale characters in your book - which do you feel has the best story?
A: Hmm, I'd say Hort. He certainly has the highest stakes, having been in love with Sophie, and then betrayed by her in Book 1 as a girl, and in Book 2 as a boy. You can say his trust in humanity is sinking lower and lower, so that'll play out in Book 3.
Q: Your book has lots of fairy tale gadgets like the 'changing gender' spell and invisibility cloak - which one would you take home with you if you could?
A: I'd take Mogrification in a heartbeat - the ability to turn into an animal? I'd turn into a hawk and take off into the night.
Q: Can you give us a glimpse into the start of book 3?
A: Absolutely not! Honestly, the joy is in the surprises, so I'll have to preserve them for you. But Book 3 tackles the duality between Young and Old... perhaps that's hint enough...
Q: Where are you at with the filming of book 1?
A: We're hoping to start shooting early next year. I just finished writing the script for Universal.
A World Without Princes (The School for Good and Evil, Book 2)
The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, Book 1)
