The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: September 13, 2011
ISBN: 9780385534635
400 Pages
Fiction
Publisher’s Description:
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.
My Opinion:
The Night Circus is a magical circus in every aspect. It is built and held together with magic, and is bewitching in its charm. Those who visit are so enamored of it that some follow it around the world from site to site. The circus itself is the star of this story, while the two competing magicians, Marco and Celia, are the supporting actors.
This is not a plot-driven novel by any means. It is a literary tale filled with character descriptions: mainly descriptions of the circus itself. In some ways the descriptions of various tents and arenas reminded me of the magical rooms and discoveries to be found in Willy Wonka’s candy factory (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl). However, The Night Circus did not enchant or endear itself to me in the same way.
Once the plot finally did pick up near the end of the story, I felt like the author took an easy way out. There was so much potential for conflict; for competitive exploits of one character against the other. Instead, their magical actions almost seemed passive.
*Spoilers begin here.*
After all, they were in love with each other and didn’t want to hurt each other. I get that, but really, the most dangerous thing that happened to either of them was the draining of one’s power, which was definitely didn’t induce any nail-biting from anxiety, or even an increased pulse for that matter. It just wasn’t that much of a climax, and then the ending seemed like a cop-out to me.
*End spoilers.*
It was a mostly charming story of magical realism, but in the end it left me dissatisfied. If it had to end the way it did then I wanted more details about the nature of the magic that happened during the climax of the story, and why those two thought that particular fate was the best. Because in my opinion, it was a fate that might seem good at first, but would become hellish over time. And this thought of the ambiguity of the desirability of their fate was actually the most redeeming factor of the ending.
Regardless of my issues with the story I think that fans of magical realism will enjoy it very much. I recommend The Night Circus especially to fans of Sarah Addison Allen’s novels, which have a similar flair of magic.
Rating: 3.5/5
© 2011, At Home With Books. All rights reserved.
I’m not generally a fan of magical realism, but I did enjoy the audio version of this book. (You’ve been somewhat a reading machine lately Alyce).
I’ve set this book aside after reading about 80 pages.. It just wasn’t grabbing me and this surprised me since I have yet to read a “bad” review… maybe I will try it again another time.. at least your review made me feel I wasn’t the only one not thrilled over it!
It sounded so promising too. What a shame. I love the way you described it in the first paragraph.
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Good to see some contrary views on this one. I am not really much of a fan of Allen, but I’m pretty sure I would like this. Not sure I would love it. I have the book, and will wait until all the fervor dies down before I tackle it.
I see what you mean about the ending not being very strong and that the author didn’t capitalize on the potential for conflicts. I still loved the book, though, mainly because I found the descriptions of the circus to be captivating, and I loved the writing.
I like seeing a non-raving review of this one, since I’m not into magical realism, but still feel like if everyone loves it I must be “missing” something!
I’ve been kind of nervous about this book because of all the buzz. I’m afraid it might be to fantastical for me. I’m glad to see a review that doesn’t rave about the book to temper my expectations.
I really want to read this one. I’m hoping to read it soon. I’ll try not to have too many expectations.
I had similar thoughts to you on this one. I hadn’t thought about the lack of real danger, but that is a good point. If their lives had been at risk it would have made the plot a lot more interesting.
I thought the ending came up too fast. I remember holding just a few pages in my hands thinking “how in the world can this end so soon?” but it did. I would have liked a more gradual lead-up but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.
Hmm…I love Sarah Addison Allen but I also need a good plot driven story…it can’t be all imagery! I’m still up in the air about this one!
♥ Melissa @ Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf
OOH i like the sound of this, thanks for the recommendation.
I really like Sarah Addison Allen so I’m looking forward to this one.
We had similar reactions to this one, but I would even stop short of calling it literary. While I enjoyed the initial descriptions, I quickly grew bored because nothing happened and there was little character development. I’m not a huge fan of magical realism, and I haven’t read Sarah Addison Allen, but I don’t think I’m inspired to try her if these books are similar. Thanks.
I’m also glad I read this so my expectations are lower when I begin to read the book.
i’m about 1/2 way thru listening to this one… and i’m waiting for *something* to happen. thank you for piquing my interest, because now i’m curious about this ambiguous ending! jh
I will read it since the library is getting it so we will see
I’ve heard great things about this book – I can’t wait to read it. I think I’m still #28 in line at my library for it!
I keep seeing reviews of this one and I just can’t decide if it’s for me…
Fantastic review and good points. I had not thought about the Charlie and The Chocolate Factory resemblance until you said it here. To me the book felt magical and I enjoyed that a lot.
I requested this one from my library. It seems like a divided camp in regards to liking or loving this one. So I guess I’ll have to read it for myself!! LOL
Great review!
This book sounds very interesting!
I really enjoy Sarah Addison Allen’s books, so I will need to follow your suggestion, and read this book. =)
Oh, I completely agree. I wasn’t wowed by this book, either. I thought that she developed this magical, beautiful circus at the expense of a real plot or very well-realized characters.
Fans of Sarah Addison Allen you say? I discovered her this year and have been hooked. I keep seeing reviews for this one everywhere. I’m holding off reading it though but it’s on the list.
I am liking magical realism, I started with Alice Hoffman’s The Red Garden, then some Sarah Addison Allen, which are good, but not as good as Hoffman’s, in my opinion. If I had been told that this was magical realism and it be my first introduction, I’d probably have avoided the genre. To me it didn’t seem like the same sort of magical realism, and maybe that’s why I don’t like it as much.. But I too felt let down by the ending- it was not fulfilling at all.
I think yours is one of the very first reviews that didn’t fall over itself to say how great the book was! From the get go, the premise just hasn’t appealed to me in any way. But everyone says it is sooooo good so I’ve been wavering. Now I’m back to being less excited. Now I know I’ll get it from the library instead!
I had reservations about this one too. I liked it… but… it could have been so much more. There was so much potential that was never explored, as if the author didn’t want to take any risks.
There were some issues with this book, but it all seemed to work for me. I think it is because I love books that centre around circuses… It made it easy to overlook the few problems the book suffered from…
I’m flip flopping about reading this book, being influenced by the hype. I read very few magic books, mainly Neil Gaiman or ones Gaiman recommended and liked them all but they could have gone either way for me. This is the first not-so-great review of Night Circus I’ve seen.
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i really liked it also it helped me on my homework