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Book Review: Thoughts on… The Night Circus

Book Review: Thoughts on... The Night Circus

  In The Night Circus, Celia and Marco are two magicians trained since childhood to take part in a competition that was orchestrated by their guardians to determine the better magician. If you looking for a fantasy with shocking performances, slow-burn romance, enemies (rivals) to lovers, and beautifully descriptive settings then you may love this book!

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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.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart. 

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The Writing Style/Setting/World-building

  My favorite part of reading this book was how beautifully rich and descriptive the writing was. The way Morgenstern describes every scene was so immersive and detailed, almost cinematic. It was easy to envision the setting, feeling, and atmosphere of the world Morgenstern created, especially on every page the night circus was described. I felt sucked into the page and transported to the night circus, Le Cirque des Rêves, with all the stunning visuals and descriptions. I was entranced by the feeling of entering the circus for the first time, I wanted to savor the comforting taste of mulled cider from a vendor in the circus courtyard, I imagined my excitement of fantastical feeling (like a child in Disneyland) when exploring the seemingly endless rows and rows of black and white tents, and I could almost hear applause in an audience during a show-stopping performance nearby.
 
  With the story being written in the third person point of view, Morgenstern had the creative freedom to have unlimited access to any character’s perspectives. Because of this, the time and setting jump around a lot along with a wide variety of perspectives. From the main characters slowly falling into a forbidden love to background characters visiting the night circus. Which was kinda jarring for me at first, cause the pacing felt very slow at the beginning. But once I got used to Morgenstern’s unique heavily descriptive writing style, I found it intriguing.  The un-chronological timeline helped keep up the feeling of wonder and mystery surrounding the night circus with Morgenstern keeping my interest by deliberately dropping little details more and more.

Characters

Celia Bowen

 
  The heroine in The Night Circus was interesting to me because she was powerful in a seemingly effortless and confident way. Even though it took so much relentless inner control to do so. Celia had a difficult upbringing growing up being unloved. She spent her childhood getting strictly trained for her father’s magical competition that she had no consent to being a part of and had to deal with all the pressure of harsh demands and unrealistic expectations from her narcissistic father. Despite this, she never used it as an excuse to be mean or hurt others.
 
  As an adult, Celia is an illusionist at Le Cirque des Rêves whose performances in the circus are part of the competition. Celia also has the responsibility of holding the circus together through her special gifts she was born with. This puts a heavy toll on her since maintaining the safety of the circus and all the workers within falls on her. Because of this, she’s afraid to do anything that distracts her even if those things would make her happy including being with Marco. The fact that Celia’s so selfless that she’s willing to sacrifice her own happiness in order to keep the circus going made her my favorite character.
 

Marco Alisdair

 
  The hero in The Night Circus, Marco, was picked out of an orphanage as a child specifically to be trained for a competition. A competition he was bound to complete in even though he didn’t ask to do it, like Celia. But unlike Celia, Marco wasn’t naturally born with a gift and had to learn how to be a magician through lots of studying and practice. Which put him at a slight disadvantage and he spent most of his childhood in isolation, just reading and training.
 
  As an adult, Marco Alisdair is the assistant to the original organizer of the night circus which is his way to be involved in the high-stakes competition without being inside. While Celia is front and center by giving amazing performances, Marco is more behind the scenes when competing and creates new creatively stunning tents for the circus. When he falls for Celia, he quickly turns everything he does for the competition into a way to impress her. He wants her to feel truly understood sense he’s the only other person in the world that’s in the same situation. He is very open about how passionately he feels for Celia.
 

Romance

  If you’re a fan of slow-burn and rivals to lovers, then this is definitely the book for you! The slow pacing at the beginning added so much build-up of slow-burning tension for when Celia and Marco finally met. Plus, I love the rivals to lovers trope so it was so fun seeing them compete with each other while at the same time being impressed with each other’s talent.
 
  Marco was the hopeless romantic type, probably due to so much reading when growing up which is relatable. I love how he uses his creations for the competition as ways to show her his love. I love how he genuinely wants to make her smile even if it’s through his creations not his words.
 
  Even though Celia was more resistant to being with Marco, she had a good reason to be since she had to keep the circus going. But she spent her whole life not being happy, having her whole life being planned out for her without any say in it,  having to keep in control of her emotions all the time. It was hard seeing her not getting the chance to relax and just be happy. So when she’s finally tired of it all, it was satisfying! I only wish I could have seen more of them being happy together.
 

Final Thoughts

  Even though this wasn’t my favorite romance ever, the tragic romance vibes made it feel more timeless. Despite the slow pacing, the fantastical world Morgenstern created and described was enchanting.  The fairytale-like storytelling and the immersive detailed descriptions felt like it came from a story that’s been around for decades or even centuries not just years.
 
  So because Morgenstern was able to write a story that felt as timeless as a fairytale or Shakespeare, I can’t help but have respect and appreciate Morgenstern’s storytelling. The Night Circus feels old school in the best way.
 

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About the Author...

Erin Morgenstern is the New York Times bestselling author of THE NIGHT CIRCUS (one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time) and THE STARLESS SEA. Her books have won Alex, Locus & Dragon Awards and have been published in dozens of languages. She has a degree in Theater from Smith College and lives in Massachusetts.

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