Sunday, April 15, 2018

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
400 pages
Published by Doubleday

Plot: 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 RΓͺves, 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. (2018, Goodreads.com)

Review:  The Night Circus was one of those books you just love reading.  It's magical and interesting and beautifully written.  There are so many elements to this story that it's hard to really put it into words.  It's not just a love story about Marco and Celia.  In fact, these two characters don't really even interact very much until the middle of the book.  This was one part of the story-line that I was disappointed with.  I would have liked their love story to have started sooner.  It felt like it took too long for Marco and Celia to actually interact and fall in love.  

But this story is not just about Marco and Celia - it is also about the circus and everyone involved.  From the designers to the entertainers, the Circus holds the fate of them all.  But the true puppet masters are Marco's teacher and Celia's father, whose "game" has deadly consequences for any who wish to interfere.

The structure of The Night Circus is written in 2 parts.  The present and the future.  There is a third main character introduced named Bailey, but you don't really know what his part is in the circus until almost the end of the book.  But, it does provide for a good plot twist.  I did feel that there were unnecessary parts to the story that made it drag from time to time.  I would have liked for more interaction between Marco and Celia instead.   

As the summary above states, Marco and Celia are in a competition and the circus is their venue in which to display their skills in magic.  However, as Marco and Celia get older they not only realize that they are in love, but that one of them must die in order for their "game" to end.  They are tired and just want to be together.  But the magic binding them to their competition is unbreakable unless one of them dies.  They are bound to the circus, and although the other entertainers have no part in the game, their fates are also entwined with the continuation of the circus as well.  Their choices are impossible ones and sacrifices will have to be made.  Recommended for ages 15 and up!

This is a standalone novel.

Rating: πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–

               4 Hearts!

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