Book Description

“Once Upon a Fishbowl” is an imaginative book - a parable, an allegory - which playfully captures a very human story, but one which is set in the marine world of fish. The story parallels the biography of Serena Williams, the tennis player, as it recounts the unfolding life of a blue fish named “Selena Gilliums” and her quest to be the ocean-wide fish-champion in the game of "Bubble Ball", a game fish play in water with their fins using oily air bubbles. And why "blue” fish? Because the ocean of Aria's imagination has fish of 2 colors, blue and yellow. Just as humans consciously and subconsciously engage in discrimination based on skin color, the fish in this world discriminate based on fin colors - they engage in "fishism". The book skillfully traces the long struggle against fishism, fish slavery and the fight for Civil Rights in the fictional ocean country called "The United Shoals of Americlam" while weaving the athletic rise in contemporary times of Selena Gilliam. It celebrates the journey of tribulations, frustration and eventual triumph of a larger-than-whale spirit of Selena, who rises above all the obstacles to become the fish which was the GOAT - Greatest of All Time - in Bubble Ball... The book does not merely trace Serena's life or past history, though. It showcases many issues which are as relevant today as a hundred years ago - gender discrimination, religious discrimination, class discrimination, our fights against fellow humans based on stereotypes and nationality, our blatant plundering of environment, our pollution footprint... a very sobering reminder from a fish narrator... Even the book’s tagline, "Are Fish Racist? Are they following human footsteps?" is a haunting reminder to us all about our responsibility (and irresponsibility) toward nature and all which surrounds us. The book is replete with delightful puns, a very sophisticated use of English language and a large number of fish drawings sketched by the author and scattered throughout the book. There are also these cute explanatory notes for humans who may not know the inner workings of the marine world, and a comical glossary. This metaphorical biopic is a wonderful work of art and creativity from a very young, precocious author. It will inspire people of all ages to reflect on the importance of overcoming our prejudices, and rising above our superficial differences, to truly be “human”.