Aladdin lives with his mother in the Quarter of the Street Rats in Agrabah, "where thieves, beggars, murderers and poorest of the poor lived." Desperately poor, Aladdin survives by stealing from the market, something his mother does not approve. Even when he is brought home by Akram for stealing dried figs and dates, his mother urges him, "Don't let life's unfairness, don't let now poor you are decide who you are. You choose who you will be, Aladdin....You can choose to be something more."
Soon with the death of his mother Aladdin finds himself alone, except for the monkey, Abu, that his mother gave him. Once again he finds himself pursued by Rasoul, the market guard for stealing bread.After a chase through the winding streets, Aladdin settles down for the evening, sharing a melon Abu has stolen. Suddenly the mood in the marketplace shifts as a girl in a tan robe and headscarf wanders through. Aladdin recognizes she is likely "a rich girl, out for a day of shopping without her servants."When confronted by a Street Rat, the girl takes an apple from a stall and gives it to the boy, walking away without paying. When the fruit merchant demands payment but the girl refuses, the merchant pushes her against the stall and tries to cut off her hand as punishment. However, Aladdin, quickly intervenes, saving her from this fate. He explains to the merchant that the girl is his sister who is not quite right. Having calmed the fruit merchant, Aladdin and the girl are leaving, when Abu is caught stealing numerous apples. The enraged fruit merchant
Meanwhile at the palace, in a secret workshop, the sultana's grand vizier, Jafar, is using his black magic. Rasoul arrives and is ordered by Jafar to locate the boy whose image hovers in the air. Rasoul is surprised, telling Jafar that the boy is mere Street Rat. But Jafar insists, telling him the boy is important. Jafar doesn't tell Rasoul that Aladdin is "the only one the ancient powers say can enter the cave and live."
In the city Aladdin takes the mysterious girl to his home high above the city. However they are soon discovered by Rasoul and his men and captured. At this point, Aladdin learns the girl, Jasmine, is the daughter of the sultan. Jasmine is returned to the palace while Aladdin is thrown into the deepest dungeon beneath the palace. Aladdin now knows he can never marry Jasmine, the girl of his dreams because she must marry a prince, which he is most definitely not. He discovers he is imprisoned with a bizarre old man, who tells him about a cave of wonders, "filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams!"The old man wants to retrieve the treasure but needs someone strong and agile to go there for him. Suddenly the dungeon walls open and Aladdin finds himself and the old man crawling through a long tunnel that bypasses pools of lava. Once outside of the palace, the two along with Abu travel through the desert, to the mysterious cave of wonders. Inside, Aladdin finds a cave filled with gold, jewels and priceless objects. With the help of a magic carpet, Aladdin is able to locate the lamp the old man desires, but Abu greedily grabs at a gemstone, causing the cave to collapse and the lava from below to fill it. Aladdin and Abu on the magic carpet race to the cave entrance and at the insistence of the old man toss him the lamp. But to their shock, the man doesn't help them but tries to push them into the pit. The cave seals, leaving Aladdin and Abu trapped.
Meanwhile in the palace, Jafar, who was disguised as the old man, now has the lamp and the genie who tells him he has three wishes. His first wish is to be sultan and when Jasmine's father, the sultan refuses to bow to him, Jafar wishes to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world. This wish is also granted. With the genie's power, Jafar commands him to bind Jasmine and her father and then on the Public Balcony, announces that he is the sultan. He rains gold coins down on the people of Agrabah and then pushes Jasmine's father over the balcony to his death.
After digging for three days, Aladdin manages to escape the cave and with the help of the magic carpet returns to Agrabah. He learns that the city has a new sultan, and the parade he witnesses reveals the truth of what has happened. The old man in the palace dungeon was a disguised Jafar who is now in possession of the lamp and its djinn. Aladdin travels to the lair of the Street Rats where he meets his friends Morgiana and Duban who are leaders of a the den of thieves. When Aladdin learns that Jasmine is being forced to marry Jafar the next evening, he knows he must rescue her. So Aladdin along with Abu and the magic carpet sneak back into the palace through the tunnel leading to the dungeon, and work their way up into the palace. Aladdin encounters Jasmine attempting to escape but before they can leave, they are discovered by Rasoul who along with the palace guards, sets out in pursuit. Aladdin, Jasmine and Abu manage to escape but in the process, Rasoul is killed and the magic carpet is left behind.
In the Street Rats den, Aladdin, Jasmine, Morgiana and Duban discuss how to bring down Jafar. Jasmine explains that now that Jafar is sultan and the world's most powerful sorcerer, he is attempting to find out how to break the laws of magic. To that end, he is searching the world "to find ancient, evil sources of knowledge that may help him." He wants to raise an army of the undead. In a race against time, Aladdin and Jasmine must find an ancient text and bring the fight to Jafar before he grows so powerful that all of Agrabah is forever enslaved and Jasmine is forced into marriage.
Discussion
A Whole New World is a mash-up of Disney's version of Aladdin and the Walking Dead. In this retelling, Aladdin has possession of the lamp only briefly - in the cave of wonders. Instead Jafar uses the lamp to take possession of Agrabah and murder the sultan. In A Whole New World, Aladdin helps the princess reclaim her kingdom, overthrowing Jafar who has enslaved all of Agrabah with black magic.
Unfortunately, this rendition of Aladdin has plenty of plot holes. For example, Jafar has an army of zombies, or undead at his command that he can use to easily and quickly defeat Aladdin and recapture Jasmine. Instead he inexplicably gives Aladdin and Jasmine an ultimatum and time to mount an attack.
The story is driven by the novel's many action scenes which revolve around the love interest between Aladdin, the poor boy who dreams of becoming something more and Princess Jasmine who wants to marry a boy for love. There are chases and battles between Aladdin and Rasoul, battles between the Street Rats and the guards and a climactic battle in the throne room between Aladdin and Jafar.
Some interesting themes in the novel remained underdeveloped, such as whether or not something evil can be used for good. For example, in a note sent to Jasmine from the imprisoned genie, they learn that Jafar is searching for a book, Al Azif by Abdul Alhazred. Possessing this book, according to Jasmine, "let's you kill with you mind and raise armies of the undead." When Aladdin suggests that the book must be burned should they find it, Jasmine is horrified. She believes she can use the book for good and that it will give her the power "to defeat Jafar and take back the throne." However, Aladdin believes that weapons of evil can never be used for good. He argues that "...just because the book's in our hands doesn't mean that it couldn't wind up in someone else's hands. We need to burn it. That keeps it from ever being used for ill purposes." This conflict between the two main characters, is only briefly mentioned one other time. In the climactic scene however, what Aladdin foresaw comes to pass.
Fans of the Disney version of Aladdin may enjoy A Whole New World, as will those who like fairytale retellings. With a new Aladdin movie due out this year, it's possible many readers will have their interest piqued with a reworked version of the story and a savvy book cover.
Book Details:
A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell
Los Angeles: Disney Press 2015
376 pp.
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