The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Jan. 31st, 2012 12:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it …
It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque de Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.
Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the reveurs - the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination and of their love …
A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.
After her mother’s suicide, five-year-old Celia Bowen is sent to live with Hector Bowen, a successful magician who performs under the stage name Prospero the Enchanter. But Hector’s illusions are real, and Celia herself can perform magic. Hector’s so confident of Celia’s abilities that he engages in a contest with his old adversary Mr A. H. wagering that Celia can beat any protégé Mr A. H. decides to train. Mr A. H. selects Marco, a young boy from an orphanage, training him in the structures and formats of magic.
When the impresario Chandresh Lefèvre, decides to form a Night Circus filled with incredible acts and delicious wonders, the stage is set for Celia and Marco’s contest. Ignorant of each other’s identities, they work to fill the circus with the incredible and the wonderful, slowly falling in love with each other even as the stakes of the competition slowly become evident …
Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel is a literary fantasy delight that couples a heart breaking love story with incredible world building.
There is a slow, dreamy quality to the writing, with Morgenstern following not only the two main characters but also a number of small characters who are integral to the plot’s events. This means that you don’t get any real depth to any of the characters, but for me it added colour and texture to the story, particularly those segments that involve the twins, Widget and Poppet who are born when the Circus opens and Bailey, a farmer’s son who becomes intrigued with the Circus and its inhabitants. Isobel the Fortune Teller is also a particularly memorable character, although hers is a tragic arc.
The world building is incredible with the descriptions of the Circus itself is particularly vivid and I loved the different tents and their amazing contents – especially The Ice Garden and the Pool of Tears.
The love story plays out well, although I was a little irritated that Marco and Celia are so slow to figure out the rules of their contest (or even to ask questions about it). The way in which the contest manifests means that you believe in their growing passion for each other and can understand where that love comes from.
In conclusion, it’s a simple love story that’s beautifully told with an incredible breadth of imagination and I very much look forward to reading what Erin Morgenstern does next.
The Verdict:
Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel is a delightful literary fantasy that couples vivid and imaginative world-building with a sweet love story at its heart. Although the nature of the book is such that you don’t get much in the way of in-depth character development, this was offset for me by the world of the circus and the way in which Morgenstern incorporates the story of numerous side characters. Comparisons with Harry Potter are unfair and unrealistic, but I would say that if you enjoyed JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this. I for one can’t wait to see what Erin Morgenstern writes next.
No announcements precede it …
It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque de Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.
Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the reveurs - the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination and of their love …
A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.
After her mother’s suicide, five-year-old Celia Bowen is sent to live with Hector Bowen, a successful magician who performs under the stage name Prospero the Enchanter. But Hector’s illusions are real, and Celia herself can perform magic. Hector’s so confident of Celia’s abilities that he engages in a contest with his old adversary Mr A. H. wagering that Celia can beat any protégé Mr A. H. decides to train. Mr A. H. selects Marco, a young boy from an orphanage, training him in the structures and formats of magic.
When the impresario Chandresh Lefèvre, decides to form a Night Circus filled with incredible acts and delicious wonders, the stage is set for Celia and Marco’s contest. Ignorant of each other’s identities, they work to fill the circus with the incredible and the wonderful, slowly falling in love with each other even as the stakes of the competition slowly become evident …
Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel is a literary fantasy delight that couples a heart breaking love story with incredible world building.
There is a slow, dreamy quality to the writing, with Morgenstern following not only the two main characters but also a number of small characters who are integral to the plot’s events. This means that you don’t get any real depth to any of the characters, but for me it added colour and texture to the story, particularly those segments that involve the twins, Widget and Poppet who are born when the Circus opens and Bailey, a farmer’s son who becomes intrigued with the Circus and its inhabitants. Isobel the Fortune Teller is also a particularly memorable character, although hers is a tragic arc.
The world building is incredible with the descriptions of the Circus itself is particularly vivid and I loved the different tents and their amazing contents – especially The Ice Garden and the Pool of Tears.
The love story plays out well, although I was a little irritated that Marco and Celia are so slow to figure out the rules of their contest (or even to ask questions about it). The way in which the contest manifests means that you believe in their growing passion for each other and can understand where that love comes from.
In conclusion, it’s a simple love story that’s beautifully told with an incredible breadth of imagination and I very much look forward to reading what Erin Morgenstern does next.
The Verdict:
Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel is a delightful literary fantasy that couples vivid and imaginative world-building with a sweet love story at its heart. Although the nature of the book is such that you don’t get much in the way of in-depth character development, this was offset for me by the world of the circus and the way in which Morgenstern incorporates the story of numerous side characters. Comparisons with Harry Potter are unfair and unrealistic, but I would say that if you enjoyed JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this. I for one can’t wait to see what Erin Morgenstern writes next.
