Book Review: The Night Circus

I'm not going to make reviewing books here into a habit or anything, but I have to talk about a fabulous novel I just finished reading!

When The Night Circus first came out, I didn't have much interest in reading it. It didn't sound like my kind of book. I heard good things about it and bought it for my mom on her birthday. She told me she really liked it and shared it with my sister, who also liked it. Then it was the choice for my local book club, so I obtained the book from my sister to read.  And you know what? I couldn't put it down!!!

Trying to summarize the story into my own words would not do it justice, so here is what it says on 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 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.

There's something about the way Erin Morgenstern writes that is so engaging and enthralling. Almost immediately, I was swept into the world of her characters and the circus itself. Everything could be going on around me and I would just get lost in the pages. I felt like the characters were people I really knew and I even felt a kinship with some of them. When I would put the book down, they would stay in my mind. The descriptions are so vivid throughout the story. I could really picture most of what was going on. (The reason I say "most" is because sometimes the descriptions were a bit overzealous and I got lost in trying to figure out how to visualize them.) I like how it was set in the late 1800's/early 1900's as the story gave off such a perfect feel for that era. There wasn't modern technology to work with and people just seemed nicer in general (even if they weren't always the nicest).

I must warn you that in order to enjoy this novel, you need to have suspension of disbelief going on in your mind at ALL times. The magic (and even other circus acts) described is very cartoonish in nature. Since this is a book, the author's imagination can exaggerate things as much as possible. It made me think of Disney's version of Aladdin, where the Genie could just make anything happen, no matter how outlandish it was. I felt like the only way to play this out as a movie would be to have a huge art direction budget. There's just so much going on and it gives the story a "Harry Potter" feel. Also, the explanations were vague, which made things confusing or difficult to wrap my head around.

Overall, I loved The Night Circus. I already told my husband that he HAS to read it (he doesn't read much but I think he'd enjoy this one) and I want my kids to read it when they're older and can comprehend what is going on. I do think it would make a cool movie, but it would have to be done to perfection in order to do justice to such an amazing novel.



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