Thursday, September 25, 2014

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (no spoilers)

Book: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publication: September 13th, 2011
Source: Local Library
Read: August 28th-September 3rd
Summary (from Goodreads):
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 RĂªves, 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.
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My Thoughts:
The Night Circus is a book that has literally been on my tbr list forever and I would have continued to put off The Night Circus if Booksplosion didn't choose it for their August book of the month. Another cool fact is that this is Erin Morgenstern first and only novel and she wrote the first draft of this novel during nanowriomo. Before I start my review I do have to admit I had my doubts about this book. I debated put it down about 50 pages in. I will let you know in advance I'm glad I didn't. 

I have to talk about the writing first. This book had beautiful writing. I also believe this book offer so much more depth than any book I have read in a while. The important part of The Night Circus is that it is not so much about the characters, but the world and the ambiance of the Circus. I fell in love with the atmosphere of the circus although it could be quite dark at times. 

I  did have a few problems with this book such as the lack of plot lines, and the challenge being poorly explained. I was frustrated at times because I didn't understand what the challenge entailed and how Celia and Marco were ever supposed to escape it. I did find the book to be slow at the beginning, which is why it took a while to get into for me. I was okay with the level of romance in this novel, but I would have been okay with more also.

My favorite characters in this book were Poppet, Widget, Bailey, and Celia. I really enjoyed learning more about their lives as I learned more about the circus. The magic of this novel was beautiful as is the writing and that reason inside its own makes it. This book is like no other book I have read before and although I don't think it would be for everybody I enjoyed it. I'm glad I finally read this book. 

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I've been meaning to pick it up for such a long time. This makes me want to read it even more. Thanks for the review! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a great book. It takes a while to get into, but it has character depth that I have not read in such a long time.

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