The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern #bookreview #fantasy #historical
Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Anchor
Publication Date: September 13, 2011
Page Count: 401
My rating: 3 stars
About the book:
Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus,the spellbinding bestseller that has captured the world’s imagination.
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 both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a historical fantasy about Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams. The beginning gives a glimpse into this magical traveling circus that pops up out of nowhere and only runs during the nighttime hours before taking a reader back to introduce a few characters.
When Celia was a little girl her mother committed suicide landing her on the doorstop of her father, Prospero the Entertainer. Prospero doesn’t want to take care of a child but when he realizes Celia has the gift of magic he contacts his old master and brokers a deal between the pair.
Mr. AH and Prospero make a wager that would settle their battle of old magic versus new magic. Each will train their protege and one day those two will meet and participate in a battle in which only one will survive. Mr. AH then visits the local orphanage to find the perfect child to train in the ways of magic.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is another book that I’ve put off reading for quite a while but keep hearing here and there that oh this reminds me of Night Circus or that happened in Night Circus so I finally decided to give this one a try. Not surprisingly I found this one to be a little on the slow side which is what had me worried about picking it up but being prepared it wasn’t quite as bad as I expected.
After getting through the first section of the story it did seem to pick up a bit to me and I began to enjoy the story a bit more. I will admit to paying a lot more attention to all the other characters involved in the circus and trying to figure them out as I had a feeling I know where Celia and Marco were heading and I was right eventually. So while I didn’t think it was all that surprising overall either I did somewhat like the story as a whole, it would be great to see some of the circus hit the big screen too as a lot of this book seemed heavy on the visual of course then I can hear everyone already saying but the book is better.
Find this book online:
Goodreads / Amazon
About the author:
Erin Morgenstern is a writer and a multimedia artist who describes all her work as “fairy tales in one way or another.” She has a degree in Theatre from Smith College, an ever-growing collection of jewelry made from skeleton keys, and a cat on her lap. She lives in Massachusetts. THE NIGHT CIRCUS is her first novel.
http://www.facebook.com/erinmorgensternbooks
Carries Book Reviews 
I can only agree with you!! Fabulous review!
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Thanks! If the pacing had been a bit faster I may have been one of those five stars too. 🙂
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Wonderful review, Carrie! I’ve also put this one off forever! (Your review doesn’t have me eager to pick it up yet, though!) 😊
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Thanks! I’m really trying to make an effort in picking up older titles I’ve been putting off instead of all ARCs all the time. Drives me crazy to hear mentions of things and not know the book myself. LOL
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That is a awesome cover. Great review
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Thanks Lynn. 🙂
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I did like this more than you Carrie, but I agree about the pace being a bit slow. It’s been optioned by Summit Entertainment so hopefully we’ll see a film adaptation in the next couple of years.
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I thought it might be which was another push to get it done so I’m not sitting there debating on whether to watch without reading or not. Always best to do the book first so then you know what they’ve changed. 🙂
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Oh yeah, the poor movie won’t have a chance! Lol. The visuals described are incredible. I’m not one to get bogged down in the visuals of a story as I tend to be more interested in plot and characters, but it actually worked for me in this particular book. I think I enjoyed it more than you did but, like Kim, I know exactly what you mean about the slow pace!
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I actually think they do a pretty good job these days with all the computer aided enhancements so it definitely would be one I’d love to see the translation onto the big screen. 🙂
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😉
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Lovely review Carrie… This book never made me curious… Your review made me curious… One day I will read this…
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Thanks Shalini! I suppose I’m passing on the curiosity this time as I kept hearing other mentioning it so I ended up picking it up. 🙂
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Great review. Sounds like a good book.
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Thanks Michelle! 🙂
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Hi – yes, I completely agree. It’s not a fast-paced book in terms of what we normally read, but we can appreciate it for the beauty otherwise. Great share!
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Very true 🙂
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I am in the same boat as you Carrie, I have put this off for so long. I actually checked it out of the library once, then returned it without reading it. I vow to read this one before the end of the summer. Great review.
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Thanks Carla! There’s so many out there that I see all the time and think I need to go back and read that one so I figure it’s about time to sneak one in here and there.
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I have been trying to do that this summer.
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