The Night Circus

a novel

No cover

Erin Morgenstern: The Night Circus (Hardcover, 2011, Doubleday)

Hardcover, 387 pages

English language

Published Nov. 6, 2011 by Doubleday.

ISBN:
978-0-385-53463-5
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4 stars (4 reviews)

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates …

6 editions

A travelling magical circus made by a pair of star-crossed lovers

4 stars

This was quite an enjoyable book. I don't think it was as good as The Starless Sea, but it was still fun and had a charming ambience. I wish I could visit a circus as intriguing and magical as this one. The plot jumps a little in time and focuses on the circus and how it relates to the mysterious challenge of the key characters Celia and Marco. The unique setting helps carry the story all the way through.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2023/02/book-review-night-circus-by-erin.html

Review of 'The Night Circus' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I liked the second half, when events finally start to come together, much more than the earlier sections. Erin Morgenstern spent much, much time setting the stage. And setting it. And setting it. There were some fabulous elements to her magical circus, and I suspect that sometimes words couldn't do justice to her vision.

This book presented many stark visual contrasts: fire and ice, black and white. The obvious contrast that's missing is good and evil; the only "bad guy" seemed to be the passage of time--and even "time" was not necessarily a bad thing, just something to be manipulated.

Each chapter is prefaced with a place and a date, and I almost didn't notice some overlapping time frames.

Another "time" trick was Morgenstern's use of describing everything in current tense, so that events happen now, not before now.

I was not particularly swept away by the love story, nor …