coffee & ink

A bitter fairy tale about a young black peasant girl who falls in love with the light-skinned son of a rich man on a Caribbean island, this is the basis of the musical Once on This Island, which softened the story considerably by adding a metafictional frame. Guy's eye on the prices exacted by colorism and classism is much colder. All the orphans of this island, Guy says, are called Ti-Moune, and so the peasant girl is named by her foster parents and the various helpers she finds on her journey; her given name is Desiree Dieudonnee, Gift of God, and Desiree is what her lover calls her. He sees no need to repay her care and affection.

Hadn't realized it was based on "The Little Mermaid" till reading the book.