The Night Circus

“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.
You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.”
(~490 The Night Circus)

The Night Circus is anything like I’ve read before. It was such a dazzling journey I admit being quite speechless but I’ll try to explain myself in this review though I believe it won’t be coherent.

This book, brought to us by Erin Morgenstern, is a magical romance within a game in which Le Cirque des Rêves is the venue. We are presented to Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair and they need to prove to their mentors that one of them is stronger than the other. And what was once a competition, soon turns into demonstrations of affections through magic and illusions.

The circus isn’t a normal circus. It appears out of thin air, without warning and you never know when it’ll disappear. As soon as you approach the fence, you understand it’s not an ordinary circus with clowns and animals and tricksters. Instead, you find several tents, each one even more wonderful than the other. And despite being a circus, it lacks colour, the black and white stripes and main pallet being the only colour around you. Apart from one or two shades of red from the Rêveurs.

Morgenstern created a breathtaking book that hooks since chapter one. As soon as you enter the circus, you don’t wish to leaves it and when you stop reading it even for a minute, you barely recognise your world and know where you are. You don’t know what’s real and what’s not.

The writing was beautifully developed. There’s two distinct timelines within the book that twist together at the end. You might find it complicated to read two different moments in time, but the way Erin divided them and marked them was rather smart. At each change, she would add a small description of the circus, letting us get inside it as a visitor rather than a reader. I found those small snippets a brilliant way to caught our attention to the venue.

I will be utter honest with you, I am trying to resume something I felt so personal I believe I’m not actually making any sense at all. This book is a total excited and mystical experience it differs from person to person and you need to go through it to fully understand my statements. You need to visit the various tents, the various characters and moments in this book to understand the magnitude of what Erin Morgenstern created. It lies within your feelings rather than in your writing ’cause, for me, it’s being a difficult task for me to put it in words.

Magic works in mysterious ways and, for me, this book was a dazzling journey in which love conquers all and dreams are told to come true. With this story, I believed in the power of magic and, I can honestly admit, I’ve became a Rêveur.

“Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that… there are many kinds of magic, after all.”
(~482 The Night Circus)

This is a book filled with magic and mystery. It was both riveting and mind blowing. The author so intricately describes the circus and the story that you feel part of the dream. The story line was enchanting and extraordinary. Mystery, suspense, romance, and tragedy all wonderfully stitched into on book.

Celia Bowen is brought to her father, Prospero the Enchanter, at a very young age where her talents are discovered. He begins to teach her how to use and control these powers for a challenge his friend, Alexander, and him have set up. Alexander, or the man in the grey suit, has taken on a boy, Marco, for the upcoming challenge. They are both rigorously trained day in and day out. Although neither are really sure what they are training for, they pour themselves into their studies to please their instructors. Plans are drawn up, people are involved, and before you know it a circus is up and running. This is not just any plain old circus; no this is a circus of dreams. It goes beyond your wildest imaginations and further still. It is the chosen venue for the challenge to commence. Marco is placed in the service of Chandresh Lefevre, the proprietor of the circus, and becomes his ever faithful assistant. During one of the interviews for the circus’ illusionist, Marco discovers his opponent for the challenge and slowly plots his first move. Since he is incapable of following along with the circus, he places a spy, Isobel (a tarot reader madly in love with Marco) on the inside to keep tabs on Celia’s every movement. As the circus grows and tent after tent rises up from the dust, so does their love for one another. They feel a strong connection to each other that neither one can resist; not to mention they seem to balance one another. Little do they know they are bound to a losing game. They are faced with tragedy and deception along their journey. They make life long friends and wondrous memories as the challenge progresses. Though who will be left standing in the end? Who will win this unknown challenge? What will their choices mean for others?

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I can see where this can be a challenge for others. I enjoy a book that can transport me into the story. Yet, a lot of readers may feel that the descriptiveness in the book took away from the story. I felt quite the opposite. I loved the detail the book provided. It really allowed me to picture the authors vision. I also enjoyed the different perspectives throughout the book since it gave me the opportunity to actually get a feel for each other the characters. I highly recommend this to anyone with an open mind. It really was a fascinating story. Though if you are not a reader who enjoys long drawled out details in a story, this is not a book for you to settle on.