Review by michellerenee115 -- Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana
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michellerenee115
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Review by michellerenee115 -- Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana
[Following is a volunteer review of "Elastic Girl" by Olivia Rana.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Suffering. Tragedy. Heart-break. These are words that can be used to describe the encompassing emotions that come with reading Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana. Set in modern India, the novel explores the life of Muthu, a young girl with big dreams of becoming a star, like the actresses she sees in Bollywood movies. The story follows Muthu’s life throughout her stay with a traveling circus, as well as the adversities she faces afterwards. Readers can expect a depiction of child trafficking that is written with accuracy, emotion, and precision.
Muthu is given to the circus by her father, under the guise that it would be a good opportunity for her to make her way to stardom. With her talent of making herself so small that she can “disappear”, Muthu is indeed able to turn heads, thereby earning the title of the Elastic Girl. It was devastating to me to read this tradeoff to the circus through the eyes of a hopeful child, as she could not possibly realize the danger and manipulation that would lie ahead.
Because she is just a kid, Muthu is easily influenced by the people around her, including the men that abuse their power over her. Several men in Muthu’s life play a role in her suffering, not excluding her father. It is precisely the men in Muthu’s life that are supposed to help her that end up taking advantage of her. Like several other nameless children, Muthu simply becomes a young woman with no place to go, leaving the opportunity open for others to take advantage of this situation.
It seemed to me that every chapter of Elastic Girl was lined with one tragedy or another, from Muthu’s close escape from death by drowning, to her accident with a circus monkey, to watching her friend Gloria fade into someone unrecognizable. Throughout all of these traumatic events, the reader is constantly reminded of the perspective of a normal girl, who is just trying to live out her childhood. After countless insufferable events, Muthu and her friend are still in their childhood glory when they temporarily ditch the circus group to go have fun at the cinema. Thus, Rana does a brilliant job at portraying the vulnerability of the children that are trafficked and taken advantage of by the people who want to exploit them. Many of the girls in the book even begin to rely on and long for their abusers, since they do not know any other life than the one they have adapted to. I cannot say more about how this book captivates the cycle of abuse without giving away too many spoilers. No one should have to face what these young women face, but Rana makes it clear that Elastic Girl is not a coming of age story, but rather a story of being robbed of one’s childhood.
As a reader, I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. I read a lot of social context specific literature, and I must say that Olivia Rana did a magnificent job of combining detailed, descriptive prose with culturally relevant events and injustices. I enjoyed reading this text, but it also made me angry, ready to fight against a worldwide system that exploits young women and people in poverty. My only complaint is that I am frustrated with the ending, but I believe that Olivia Rana planned for it to be this way. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read, but specifically to people who are unaware of the specific injustices that happen to children around the world.
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Elastic Girl
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4 out of 4 stars
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Suffering. Tragedy. Heart-break. These are words that can be used to describe the encompassing emotions that come with reading Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana. Set in modern India, the novel explores the life of Muthu, a young girl with big dreams of becoming a star, like the actresses she sees in Bollywood movies. The story follows Muthu’s life throughout her stay with a traveling circus, as well as the adversities she faces afterwards. Readers can expect a depiction of child trafficking that is written with accuracy, emotion, and precision.
Muthu is given to the circus by her father, under the guise that it would be a good opportunity for her to make her way to stardom. With her talent of making herself so small that she can “disappear”, Muthu is indeed able to turn heads, thereby earning the title of the Elastic Girl. It was devastating to me to read this tradeoff to the circus through the eyes of a hopeful child, as she could not possibly realize the danger and manipulation that would lie ahead.
Because she is just a kid, Muthu is easily influenced by the people around her, including the men that abuse their power over her. Several men in Muthu’s life play a role in her suffering, not excluding her father. It is precisely the men in Muthu’s life that are supposed to help her that end up taking advantage of her. Like several other nameless children, Muthu simply becomes a young woman with no place to go, leaving the opportunity open for others to take advantage of this situation.
It seemed to me that every chapter of Elastic Girl was lined with one tragedy or another, from Muthu’s close escape from death by drowning, to her accident with a circus monkey, to watching her friend Gloria fade into someone unrecognizable. Throughout all of these traumatic events, the reader is constantly reminded of the perspective of a normal girl, who is just trying to live out her childhood. After countless insufferable events, Muthu and her friend are still in their childhood glory when they temporarily ditch the circus group to go have fun at the cinema. Thus, Rana does a brilliant job at portraying the vulnerability of the children that are trafficked and taken advantage of by the people who want to exploit them. Many of the girls in the book even begin to rely on and long for their abusers, since they do not know any other life than the one they have adapted to. I cannot say more about how this book captivates the cycle of abuse without giving away too many spoilers. No one should have to face what these young women face, but Rana makes it clear that Elastic Girl is not a coming of age story, but rather a story of being robbed of one’s childhood.
As a reader, I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. I read a lot of social context specific literature, and I must say that Olivia Rana did a magnificent job of combining detailed, descriptive prose with culturally relevant events and injustices. I enjoyed reading this text, but it also made me angry, ready to fight against a worldwide system that exploits young women and people in poverty. My only complaint is that I am frustrated with the ending, but I believe that Olivia Rana planned for it to be this way. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read, but specifically to people who are unaware of the specific injustices that happen to children around the world.
******
Elastic Girl
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like michellerenee115's review? Post a comment saying so!
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Dragonsend
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What a wonderful description of this book. It is absolutely tragic that there is even anything such as human trafficking and sometimes is not even recognized as such.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 
Latest Review: House of Eire by June Gillam
