Review by TessaC -- Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana
Posted: 01 Oct 2018, 11:41
[Following is a volunteer review of "Elastic Girl" by Olivia Rana.]
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana is an uplifting yet harrowing story of a young Indian girl and her struggles to survive. It is a dark tale that prompted me to do research on the subject of child trafficking and Indian circuses. I will say after reading this story I will never look at the young acrobats and contortionists in traveling circuses again in the same light. I like to think the girls twirling around the air at the Cirque Italia newly arrived in town are performing there because they want to, not because they are being held there almost as a slave, unlike the protagonist in this book, Muthu Tikaram.
Muthu is a poor Indian girl of eleven who dreams of being a Bollywood star. Her life is changed when her family is forced out of their house by the Indian government and her father can no longer support them on his meager salary as a shoeshine man. Muthu is not a favored daughter in her family and is not offered the educational opportunities her two older sisters enjoy. She tries to figure out how she can help her family when she finds she can contort her body and fit into tight spaces when escaping from an accident and earns the nickname “Elastic Girl”.
One day Muthu’s father comes across an ad for an Indian circus called The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. They are looking for unique acts and offer the promise of stardom, and even better, money, for the families of the children they will hire. Muthu is brought to the circus for tryouts as a contortionist. Her father signs a contract and Muthu is now a circus performer.
But what she and her father don't know is she is entering a life of abuse and servitude, where children are treated no better than the circus animals and sometimes even worse. Muthu makes a friend named Gloria who is one of the trapeze artists and together they plot to escape the circus for the city of Mumbai to finally become real stars.
But will the girls escape? What will happen to them if they do? Will Muthu ever be welcomed as a full member of her family? What really happened in the past to make her a family pariah? All these questions are answered in the book in a heartbreaking way.
This book is rich in details about Indian life as a poor girl and the struggle to survive. It has many Indian terms and words I needed to look up, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. It is told in the first person of Mutha who grows into her strengths. I found myself caught up in Mutha’s story and read the entire book over the weekend. It is well written and has a strong voice and sense of place.
It is difficult reading emotionally at times and there are violent scenes that may trigger some readers.
I highly recommend this book for readers who are looking for a story of a young girl’s triumph against the odds and for readers who love books with atmosphere and sense of place. I rate this book four out of four stars.
******
Elastic Girl
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like TessaC's review? Post a comment saying so!
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana is an uplifting yet harrowing story of a young Indian girl and her struggles to survive. It is a dark tale that prompted me to do research on the subject of child trafficking and Indian circuses. I will say after reading this story I will never look at the young acrobats and contortionists in traveling circuses again in the same light. I like to think the girls twirling around the air at the Cirque Italia newly arrived in town are performing there because they want to, not because they are being held there almost as a slave, unlike the protagonist in this book, Muthu Tikaram.
Muthu is a poor Indian girl of eleven who dreams of being a Bollywood star. Her life is changed when her family is forced out of their house by the Indian government and her father can no longer support them on his meager salary as a shoeshine man. Muthu is not a favored daughter in her family and is not offered the educational opportunities her two older sisters enjoy. She tries to figure out how she can help her family when she finds she can contort her body and fit into tight spaces when escaping from an accident and earns the nickname “Elastic Girl”.
One day Muthu’s father comes across an ad for an Indian circus called The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. They are looking for unique acts and offer the promise of stardom, and even better, money, for the families of the children they will hire. Muthu is brought to the circus for tryouts as a contortionist. Her father signs a contract and Muthu is now a circus performer.
But what she and her father don't know is she is entering a life of abuse and servitude, where children are treated no better than the circus animals and sometimes even worse. Muthu makes a friend named Gloria who is one of the trapeze artists and together they plot to escape the circus for the city of Mumbai to finally become real stars.
But will the girls escape? What will happen to them if they do? Will Muthu ever be welcomed as a full member of her family? What really happened in the past to make her a family pariah? All these questions are answered in the book in a heartbreaking way.
This book is rich in details about Indian life as a poor girl and the struggle to survive. It has many Indian terms and words I needed to look up, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. It is told in the first person of Mutha who grows into her strengths. I found myself caught up in Mutha’s story and read the entire book over the weekend. It is well written and has a strong voice and sense of place.
It is difficult reading emotionally at times and there are violent scenes that may trigger some readers.
I highly recommend this book for readers who are looking for a story of a young girl’s triumph against the odds and for readers who love books with atmosphere and sense of place. I rate this book four out of four stars.
******
Elastic Girl
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like TessaC's review? Post a comment saying so!