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Loading... The Night Circusby Erin Morgenstern
 cbl_tn | May 16, 2013 |  Set mostly in the 1890s and early 1900s, this work pits the students of two illusionists against one another. Celia is the daughter of Prospero the Great. Marco is the student of Alexander, whom he views almost as a father. The students know it is a game and that it is against a single competitor, but they are not told whom the competitor will be. They only know that the venue is the night circus . . . a circus like no other which is open only at night. The circus colors are black and white. Jim Dale is a fabulous narrator for this work, and his wonderful narration is what really kept me listening. This is a book that is outside my normal choices in reading genres. I found that parts of the book seemed to really drag. As the book began to approach its denouement, I found that I became more interested as the tension began to build. Jim Dale's narration deserves 5 stars, but the book was really overall not that interesting to me. (  )1  thornton37814 | May 11, 2013 | did not finish, reminded me of hunger games only w/circus background eileenmary | May 9, 2013 | I'd been wanting to re-read The Night Circus ever since I finished it the first time around, and when I realized that Jim Dale was the narrator, I immediately launched into the audiobook. The experience was just as good if not better than reading it in print (though I did finish up with the print version, as I had to return the audiobook to the library). My only tiny complaint is that it can be a bit difficult to tell who is talking in conversations with more than two people, especially when Dale is trying to do women's voices with Russian or Scottish accents. Still - I absolutely recommend this to anyone. It's magical. JennyArch | May 7, 2013 | This is one of the best books I've "read" all year. (I listened to the audiobook.) I really don't want to spoil it by giving away the story or trying to describe it in too much detail to you. It's the story of two competitors who compete and create more than they ever bargained for. More importantly, it is the story of those all around them who come to life more than they ever did before. It's the story of leaving behind more than what you put into the world. The book weaves a truly magical tale. I did not want it to end. The book is written non linear, or out of order. The format worked quite well for this particular story. Time is a huge element in the story. It really almost becomes a character in itself. If you love books about longings and dreams, then this book is for you. If you love books that are full of luscious vivid descriptions then this book is for you. If you love books about magic and the most wonderful magic of all, love, then this book is for you. Run out and get this book. I highly recommend the audio. What a fabulous job Jim Dale does. (  )1 luvamystery65 | May 6, 2013 |
 Magic without passion is pretty much a trip to Pier One: lots of shrink-wrapped candles. One wishes Morgenstern had spent less time on the special effects and more on the hauntingly unanswerable question that runs, more or less ignored, through these pages: Can children love who were never loved, only used as intellectual machines? What kind of magic reverses that spell? It’s not as pretty a spectacle, but that’s a story that grips the heart.  I am a reader who should have hated this novel; yet I found it enchanting, and affecting, too, in spite of its sentimental ending. Morgenstern's patient, lucid construction of her circus – of its creators and performers and followers – makes for a world of illusion more real than that of many a realist fiction. There is a matter-of-factness about the magicians' magic, a consistency about the parameters of the circus world, that succeeds both in itself and as a comment upon the need for and nature of illusion in general. While the novel's occasional philosophical gestures seem glib ("You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream"), the book enacts its worldview more satisfyingly than could any summary or statement. Rather than forcing its readers to be prisoners in someone else's imagination, Morgenstern's imaginary circus invites readers to join in an exploration of the possible. Underneath the icy polish of her prose, Morgenstern well understands what makes The Night Circus tick: that Marco and Celia, whether in competition or in love, are part of a wider world they must engage with but also transcend. It’s a world whose mystique and enigma is hard to shake off, and that invites multiple visits.  The Night Circus is one of those books. One of those rare, wonderful, transcendent books that, upon finishing, you want to immediately start again. The book itself looks beautiful but creaky plotting and lifeless characters leave The Night Circus less than enchanting
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0307744434, Paperback)Amazon Best Books of the Month, September 2011: Erin Morgenstern’s dark, enchanting debut takes us to the black and white tents of Le Cirque des Reves, a circus that arrives without warning, simply appearing when yesterday it was not there. Young Celia and Marco have been cast into a rivalry at The Night Circus, one arranged long ago by powers they do not fully understand. Over time, their lives become more intricately enmeshed in a dance of love, joy, deceit, heartbreak, and magic. Author Morgenstern knows her world inside and out, and she guides the reader with a confident hand. The setting and tone are never less than mesmerizing. The characters are well-realized and memorable. But it is the Night Circus itself that might be the most memorable of all. --Chris Schluep(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:58:12 -0500) |
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Fantasy readers are the main audience for the novel, but romance readers may also enjoy the gradual but inevitable romance between the apprentices, Marco and Celia. Since I'm neither a fantasy nor a romance fan, the book was slow going for me. I enjoyed Jim Dale's narration, but there was no point in the book where I felt I just couldn't stop listening when I needed to do something else. I don't think it would hurt the story to trim at least 100 pages from the book. A shorter length would give the story more momentum. My favorite characters were the twins, Poppet and Widget, and their friend Bailey. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if they were the main characters and Celia and Marco's story was a secondary plot. (