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D**R
Erin Morgenstern will make you feel like you are a part of the circus
“What kind of circus is only open at night?” (Morgenstern, 3)The Night Circus is enchanting and mysterious. Prepare yourself for a magical story of intrigue and whimsy. Erin Morgenstern will make you feel like you are a part of the circus. Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves.“Trespasser Will Be Exsanguinated.” (Morgenstern, 51).The Plot: The Night Circus begins in 1873 as Prospero the Enchanter learns that he has a daughter to be left in his care; a daughter with a special magical ability. It is this ability that brings about a mysterious meeting and the beginning of a game. As the years go by, Prospero meticulously trains his daughter Celia in the art of illusion, while the man in the grey suit, from the mysterious meeting, trains his student Marco. Both are bound together to play an unknown game with unknown rules until a winner is judged. The Night Circus becomes the arena for this game, and the moves made by Celia and Marco affect everyone involved in the circus. As the years go by, the two begin to fall in love, finding it more difficult to keep playing the game. A choice has to be made, to finish the game at all costs, or to give in to love and let the circus end.Let me just start out by saying that The Night Circus is definitely one that you have to pay attention to the chapter titles and timelines. With that being said, I LOVED this book. I really took my time reading it and soaking it all in and I was astounded by the immense imagery and story building found in this book! Every single piece of information, and person you meet, has some sort of effect on, or part to play in, the circus. There are so many parts to the whole, and even going backward and forward in time with the chapters helps you to understand what is going on within the circus and the game that Celia and Marco are bound to. Between some of the chapters you can also find pieces of a 2nd person point of view story line that makes you FEEL like you are walking through The Night Circus! The plot, the circus detail, and the characters are amazingly written in this one!The first character we are introduced to is Prospero, or Hector Bowen. He is ultimately the reason behind the circus and the plot because of his choice to start the game with his daughter Celia. Though he is an integral part of the story, I found him greedy and cruel and felt that he cared more about the game and it’s outcome then he did his own daughter.In the beginning of the story we are also introduced to Mr. A. H. in the grey suit. He is also an integral part of the story, as he is the mentor of Marco, Celia’s opponent. Mr. A. H. is mysterious, quiet, and quite possibly a murderer.Our main character, Celia is definitely a favorite character of mine. She is strong, beautiful, and talented in her abilities. She also captures my heart because she is a major bookworm, and holds very high morals. It is no wonder that Marco falls in love with her!Celia’s opponent Marco is a man of mystery. He was taken from an orphanage by Mr. A. H., so his background and origin are unknown. In his first encounter with Celia, he seems mildly intimidated and nervous. He becomes very restless in his training, and has slightly devious aspects in his game moves, but he plays the role of a co-main character well.Though we are introduced to many other characters, with them all being integral parts of the story and the circus, we have one other main character to consider. Bailey is introduced to us further in the story, and further in the future, and starts off as a circus spectator. He begins to build a relationship with the twins, Poppet and Widget (whom were born in the circus on opening night, thus being endowed with magical abilities), and in time, becomes a very important piece to the story. It is Bailey’s childish innocence and ability to dream that ties things together and ultimately offers a resolution to the game.“When you were five years old you turned a laundry tub into a pirate ship and launched an attack against my hydrangeas in my garden.” (Morgenstern, 87).I recommend reading this one slowly so you can take it all in. You will truly feel like part of the circus. Pay close attention to the dates in front of the chapters and let yourself be immersed into the imagery of The Night Circus.“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.: (Morgenstern, 387).
M**E
Haunting!
I finished this debut novel at 2 am. Instead of sleeping. When I had a flight leaving at 6 am. I could end the review right there, but I think it deserves a little more explanation.First line: "The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not." Talk about setting a mood! At first I thought "huh, interesting." but felt no real investment. As I wandered through bits of the circus it became so immersive that by the end I thought this opening line completely brilliant. It grows on you, seeps into your soul and stays there. As a first line, it's enough of a hook to make you read on to the next page. As a synopsis of the whole story, it's fantastic.Mechanics: My biggest issue with this story is that it's in third person, present tense. I realize this is the fashion and fad these days for literary novels, but I hate it. It makes everything distant and cold. It makes me feel as though I'm looking through a glass window at the action. A dirty glass window. A dirty glass window with the words "wash me" written in the dirt. That said, I think parts of it simply had to be this way. There are two narratives going on here...one is meant to describe what you, the reader, are doing as you make your way through the circus. That has to be third person, present tense. The rest is the backstory of the circus itself. To me, that part would have been more intimate told in the normal past tense. I found my head twisting the present tense into past tense as I read which threw me out of the story. However, the story itself is fascinating. So gripping, in fact, that I pressed onward despite the mechanics. The tense is easy to forget when people are talking, and since there is more dialog in the second half of the story that might be why some think the story picks up then. It's not the story, it's the mechanics. No matter how much in fashion it is, it's simply not comfortable to read for any length of time for the average person. This is not a script...and shouldn't read like one. There, done ranting. Don't let this stop you from reading the book because truly the story more than makes up for my little pet peeve.Voice: I found the voice to be haunting and captivating. The sentence structure is simple and straightforward. It sucks you in much the way I imagine the circus would if you were to stumble upon it.Plot: This is a literary novel, not a thriller. It's not action packed, but it is STORY packed. By that I mean the entire story is like entering the circus it describes. You cautiously inch your way forward, discovering more and more as the story unfolds until you are up at 2 am trying to get to the end and hoping against hope that it can wrap up this enchanting tale in a way that won't leave you wanting. Well done, Ms. Morgenstern, well done.Characters: I have to admit, due to the glass lens of present tense, the characters all feel a bit distant. I'm not sure I cared so much about them as I did about the circus itself. I think this might even be exactly what the author intends. Even one of the main characters spends her time finding a way for the circus to sustain itself without her. The same could be said for the story. I found this fascinating. I don't think I've ever read a story before where I didn't really care about the characters at all and yet was so captivated to see it unfold. I'm still not sure what to make of that and how it was done. I suspect I'll be coming back to this story to read it again when I've let it sit. The real main character through the entire story is the circus. I have to admit, I'm in love with the circus and now have an intense longing to decorate in black and white.The Night Circus haunts me. I find myself thinking of it at odd times, like the reveurs in the story. Wishing the story it tells is a true story. Hoping it's real. Needing it to be real. If it grabs you like it did me, then perhaps you'll join me. Put on a black coat and a red scarf and come on out. I'll be wandering around outside the city in the evenings, looking for the circus.
Trustpilot
1 day ago
2 months ago
