The One and Only Ivan Book Club #2

Several members in our group agree that this book is hard to put down (and some of us couldn't stop reading at the agreed-upon pages - that was me this week). But as a group, our conversation stayed within the agreed-upon pages. Tonight, we mostly centered around the topics posed by Dr. Powell:

• the political climate surrounding the setting of the text
• challenges the character(s) face
• author's purpose

We started with the first topic about the political climate. I realized that I don't think the author has really identified a setting in terms of location in the real world (beyond Exit 8) or a year. We know it's at least within the modern day because of the cars, phones, reporters, etc. With this in mind, we tried to piece together what the political climate might have been surrounding Big Top Mall. We discussed how rare circuses and off-the-highway animal stops are (at least seem) these days. Was this in a time where these types of things were more accepted? Though big circuses are largely a thing of the past now, these types of highway stops still exist - but we agreed that we wouldn't want to stop. Additionally, the politics within the characters at Big Top Mall could be identified, as Mack could possibly be considered a dictator within the small business. 

Many of the characters face challenges at this point in the story. Ivan has just lost his best friend (Stella) and has promised to care for and essentially free Ruby - a promise he doesn't think he can keep. Ruby is struggling with adjusting to her new home/job, having to fill the shoes of Stella in Mack's acts. Additionally, Ruby and Mack are both struggling with internal challenges. Ruby has described the story of humans saving her, but also humans killing her family - and now Mack is threatening her with a claw-stick. What does Ruby really think about humans? How can she adjust in this world? Meanwhile, Mack is also struggling internally. The author shows him as a harsh, maybe cruel animal / circus owner. But as the book progresses, we see a different side of Mack before the circus - a side where he showed compassion toward Ivan and had a wife. Now, Mack seems to have fallen on hard times and is acting out of desperation. He clearly doesn't want to do things like hurt Ruby, and it seems he is upset about Stella's death (the author describes him drunk the day after) - but it seems the circus is all he has and he needs to make a living. This also seems to be the situation George is in. He's working a job, doing things he doesn't always agree with, because he "needs the money" to support his sick wife and growing daughter. 

All of the above conversation led us to talk about one potential purpose of the author: to show that humans are both good and bad. She compared overall humanity through Ruby's situation: some humans saved her, others took everything away. And the author also showed good and bad within a single human: in Mack we see the bad and potential good - the struggle he faces and the possible reasons he makes bad choices. 

Because I'm ahead, I'm trying to wait to read more until next week to realign with my group.