Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Release date: September 13, 2011
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages: 387
Source: BEA
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 of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
The best possible word to describe The Night Circus (both the book and the place) is magical. I had heard so many good things about this book that I didn’t think it could live up to the hype. I was wrong. It was so much better than everyone said.
Every member of The Night Circus is special and unique. Each one has a different talent that is put to use in the circus. Celia and Marco were the reason the circus was created but they were not the reason it stayed open. Sure they each played their part in the circus but they were, by no means, the center of it. Everything about the circus was important. No one tent or one person played a bigger role. The circus was really a home for people who had nowhere else to go and a place where dreams came true. I have to say, The Night Circus itself made this book as wonderful as it was.
Marco and Celia didn’t hold much appeal to me when they were apart but together they were fabulous. They balanced each other and what one lacked the other made up for. Their instructors never expected them to fall in love and they did everything they could to keep them apart. I hated them for it. They were the only characters that I disliked. Tsukiko was mysterious and confusing at times but she had a good heart and always meant well. Poppet, Widget, and Bailey were my favorite characters. The story was not just about the circus, I felt like it was about Bailey just as much. He was trying to find his place in the world and do what felt right to him. He was the easiest character to relate to and to me, the most memorable. Poppet and Widget were also my favorites because they were so funny. They lightened the mood at the heavier parts.
Overall, The Night Circus is a tale for all ages. This is one book that I will go back to again and again.
First line: The circus arrives without warning.
Rating: A++
Cover: A++ (US) / A++ (UK)
Great review! I’ve seen this book around a lot and I was also not expecting much but maybe I’ll try it now considering it sounds so good! 🙂
I can’t wait to read this one! It’s sitting on my nightstand with 2 other books on top of it.
Great review!
I just requested it online from my library – I’m hold #11 of 11 currently. Luckily they have 2 copies and hopefully everyone who checks it out is a fast reader!
Oh my gosh, reading this great review is making me want to get it RIGHT NOW! And I am trying not to buy more books because I have so many others to get through first!
Oh so tempting..
I read this last week and LOVED it!
I keep seeing this book everywhere – I must read it ASAP 🙂
I have heard so many good things about this book. I need to get my hands on it.
After reading your review I found an excerpt to read. Pretty interesting. I like the present tense format and I also enjoyed reading your review.
I keep seeing great reviews on this one and OH GOSH, I want to read it! I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Awesome review 🙂
I finished it an hour ago and I loved it so much. I bought an ebook version, but I’ll be going back to purchase a hardcover copy, too.
Haven’t read this book, but I love that the circus is totally different, how there’s magic and a romance, and how, like you said, all the characters matter.
They were supposed to make a movie about it. Will they?
Lovely review 🙂