Elastic Girl, by Olivia Rana, tells the story of Muthu, a young girl born into poverty and sold to a traveling circus, who deals with so much adversity before uncovering her strengths. The stage is set from the beginning, when Muthu is born, and her family is convinced she is cursed. This seems like something from another century, but is also a modern attitude.
As a young girl, Muthu is sold to the Great Raman Circus in Chennai. Again, this seems like something from another century, after all, many older Asian folktales involve selling or trading away an unwanted daughter. But this is a modern story, with Bollywood and cell phones in the background.
The story is set in India, and this book mixes beautiful landscapes and distant cities with hardship and heartbreak. The author has a real understanding of Indian life and customs. Sometimes this is a detriment, though, since I didn’t recognize all the food and clothing mentioned. I’d have preferred descriptions of the clothes, especially the first time someone was shown in a dupatta, a salwar kameez, or a churidar. More description would have improved the novel’s setting. When I read books set in other times or other countries, I love to learn more about daily life and I wanted that here.
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Towards the end of the book, the reason why Muthu’s family — especially her maternal grandmother — believe she’s cursed is revealed. Usually in my reading, if I’m too surprised by newly revealed backstory, it feels forced or fake. In this case, I was taken aback by the reveal, but then certain comments and behaviors throughout the novel that had just seemed like aspects of poverty suddenly made perfect sense. This added depth to the characters of Muthu’s family, and helped to explain her father’s actions.