The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Genres: Historical, Magic, Romance
Intended Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Anchor
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-307-74443-2
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book
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 de 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. Amidst 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.
Personal & Info
I’m reading this as a recommendation from a friend. Upon receiving this recommendation, I was told the ending is probably the weakest part of the story. I disagree. I think the ending is pretty good. The book feels like a Romeo and Juliet type story, so the ending seems fitting in my opinion.
If anything, I think the first half of the book is the weakest. Everything takes forever to actually feel like things begin. It took me several months to get through the book because of that. It’s interesting enough because of the concept and writing, but it just feels so slow. About halfway through, everything seems to pick up drastically. That’s also when the romance starts to get emphasis.
This is a rather complicated book. Events can be hard to keep track of because chapters tend to jump forward and backward in time. The events involving Bailey occur in the future for most of the book until the main story catches up to that point. I recommend paying extra attention to which year the story is on, and maybe flipping back to double check the dates.
Characters
Hector Bowen, Prospero the Enchanter, is Celia’s father. He doesn’t come across as the greatest dad.
Alexander, Hector’s rival, has different ideals than Hector. He chooses to teach a child from an orphanage to compete against Celia.
Celia Bowen is the female lead. She is the daughter of Hector Bowen, and appears to be naturally gifted with the same talent as her father.
Marco Alisdair, the male lead, is the boy from an orphanage Alexander chooses to teach.
Chandresh Christophe Lefèvre is a theatrical producer. Bowen describes him as wealthy, eccentric, forward thinking, a bit obsessive, and somewhat unpredictable. He assembles the committee to create the circus without knowing it is the venue for the competition.
Ana Padva is a retired Romanian prima ballerina. She’s known for her impeccable sense of style, and she helps plan the circus.
Tara and Lainie Burgess are sisters who look very much alike. They do a little bit of everything, and help plan the circus.
Ethan Barris is an engineer. He commissions the famous clock for the circus, helps plan the circus, and collaborates with elaborate projects for both sides of the competition.
Friedrick Thiessen is the artisan who makes the clock for the circus. He also becomes a huge fan of the circus itself.
Bailey Clarke is an average farm boy. His family has an orchard and sheep. He loves the circus.
Poppet and Widget are fraternal twins born on opening night of the circus. They have unique talents.
Tsukiko is the contortionist Chandresh hires for the circus, but there is more to her than anybody knows.
Isobel is a girl Marco meets early in the book. She seems like a love interest right off the bat, and her role in the story is more important then one might think.
Story & Thoughts
As the description says, there is a competition occurring in the circus. However, I don’t think the competition itself is the main aspect of the story. To me, I get the feeling the story focuses more on what surrounds the competition and the effect it has on everything around it.
The competition itself is extremely inhumane. The contenders have no choice in the matter and are arranged to compete at young ages. Hector and Alexander both use rather inhumane and cruel methods of teaching. Marco is left alone constantly to study things he doesn’t understand. Celia is taught more psychologically in ways that could be as traumatizing as they are productive. The rules of the game are not even made clear until near the end.
There are first person perspectives throughout the book to portray the perspective of a circus goer. I’m not fond of these. They seem unnecessary, but I guess they are probably trying to emphasize the amazement of the circus experience.
The writing is very vivid. Morgenstern knows how to paint a picture with her words without doing too much or too little. All of the descriptions make for an enjoyable read.
I like all of the characters. They seem well defined and detailed despite there being so many. The interactions and reactions are as enjoyable as the detailed descriptions. I especially like the scene where Marco first lays eyes on Celia for her audition. His reaction there is priceless, probably one of my favorite parts in the whole book. I just love how her performance rattles him.