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[Following is a volunteer review of "Elastic Girl" by Olivia Rana.]

Elastic Girl is a harrowing coming-of-age story set in modern India. It is written by Olivia Rana.

Muthu is a clever young girl who dreams of becoming a movie star despite spending her days selling roti on the roadside. She is the third daughter of two loving parents, though her grandmother declares that the girl is cursed. Her family maintains a decent (if impoverished) life until an act of institutional violence throws Muthu’s life into havoc. She manages to keep her dreams alive in the slums, but the world conspires against her family. Finally, they are forced to sell Muthu into the Circus. Muthu has a unique talent; she is able to contort herself into confined spaces. The Circus introduces Muthu to a vast variety of people; her mentor and trainer, Mr. Kalpak; her friend and keeper, Gloria; the predatory owner of the Circus, Mr. Prem; a chimpanzee named Raja; and many others. For a while, Muthu’s new life is exciting. She trains hard to develop a successful act. She meets the Maharani and dreams of moving to Mumbai. Success, however, is not enough to keep Muthu safe. After a traumatizing assault, Muthu must decide what she has to sacrifice in order to be happy again.

The story has an incredible set up before Muthu leaves for the Circus. By that time, we have met all of Muthu’s family and have witnessed the string of hopes and crushing disasters that beats down Muthu’s family and community. The author does an excellent job of creating an emotional investment in Muthu and her family.

It is easy to believe the hope that the circus offers this desolate family after they have already given up so much. Hope and reality are at constant battle in this novel. It is at once compelling and devastating.

Elastic Girl is written with stunning imagery, and well-told through the perspective of a young girl. For example, when we are taken on the first tour through the circus, it appears as awesome as if we had never heard of a circus before - just like Muthu. For each new nightmare that Muthu encounters, we are treated to a fantasy of rich possibility.

The story has beautiful portrayals of the complexity of people and their relationships. It is refreshing to read a story that centers on a female friendship. I really enjoy the diverse perspectives of the girls in the circus. Their squabbles, loyalties, betrayals, and dreams are realistic and heart-wrenching. No character is perfect, but they are all perfectly human. Each of the main characters has a well-planned story arch, leaving us with a sense that these characters have each lived real lives.

Finally, I began this novel on guard about a white, Irish woman writing about a purely Indian experience. As far as I can tell, there are no major racist themes in the novel other than what would be realistic for the time and place. For example, lighter skin is treated preferentially several times in the novel, which is a western standard of beauty. Many colonized countries have a complicated relationship with European beauty standard. There are at least two demeaning mentions of the Muslim faith by characters. These comments are not explored at all in the novel and may be considered Islamophobic. Since this is not part of the plot, perhaps it should not have been included. This was the only issue I had with the novel.

I award Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The narrative is complex, personal, and intense. The editing is professional, with a few non-distracting errors. I would recommend this novel for mature young adults and up, with content warnings for repeated sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor, implied sexual assault, and invasive medical procedure without consent.

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Elastic Girl
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I would also like to add a content warning for Islamophobia

This is a beautifully written review of a very complex story. We all like to read 'nice' 'comfortable' books, but the world is not either of those things for the vast majority of the world's inhabitants and reading about real people's experiences can be confronting and painful, but necessary. I cannot imagine having to sell a child into a dangerous situation and how painful that must be for the family - not to mention the other harrowing happenings you chronicled.

This book sounds amazing. I hope she gets her dream in the end! Thanks for the review!

Every time I read a review mentioning "Indian girls", the alarm in my head will ring loudly as these stories often depict extremely saddening and desperate situations. This one is not an exception. Although the novel offers nothing particularly new, it seems to be well written enough and I feel for the girl. I'm on the fence here, but thanks for your review.

Your review makes the book sound fascinating and you have given a balanced account of its assets and the aspects that could be disturbing.

SpencerVo wrote: ↑12 Dec 2018, 02:02 Every time I read a review mentioning "Indian girls", the alarm in my head will ring loudly as these stories often depict extremely saddening and desperate situations. This one is not an exception. Although the novel offers nothing particularly new, it seems to be well written enough and I feel for the girl. I'm on the fence here, but thanks for your review.

A lot of the book is actually very positive. Muthu is a bit of an optimist, and that shows. I don't think Muthu sees her situation as desperate for most of the novel; it's definitely interesting because from the outside we definitely feel terrified for Muthu, but she doesn't see her life that way. Until things get really awful, which they certainly do.