Nattens cirkus (edition 2012)

Two real magicians who pretend to be merely illusionists enter a wager pitting each one's student against the other. The wager plays out over many years. Its venue is the “night circus”, a traveling show that appears and leaves without warning. At first the apprentices don't know the exact nature of the wager or the opponent's identity. The answers slowly unfold through the course of novel.

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. ( )

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. ( )

did not finish, reminded me of hunger games only w/circus background

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.

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. ( )

I usually do not like romance. I am not a romantic person. If I saw a couple having a wonderful time, not even necessarily kissing or anything, I am more likely to through my book at them and tell them to get a room. I do not like love.

That is why I was hesitant to read this. I chose to move forward for three reasons: a) it takes place around the same era as the anime/manga Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), b) I'm in a roleplay in Facebook where one of my friends is a ringleader from Black Butler, Joker from Noah's Ark Circus, and c) it seemed like destiny where I saw the book in my recommendations on Amazon and then see it again at my school book fair.

So, that is my background...and now onto the actual book.

It was amazing. Everything about the "Circus of Dreams", translated from the true French name I don't want to look at to type out, was completely painted into a picture where all the sights, smells, and pure magic came to life! As opposed to the main characters who are the players in the competition in the center story, I believe I came to care the most about Bailey, Poppet, and Widget, who are more or less background characters which become an important part of the book's resolution. As a teenager, I just identify with them the most, it seems. But the characters are not all that is extravagantly described.

The circus' atmosphere is astounding. Yet another thing I cared for slightly more than the main characters. The welfare of the circus itself. The very idea that the place may have actually existed it amazing! All of the place in complete black and white? Epic! The magic in a labyrinth of clouds, a garden of glass, and bottles full of smells that take you to different places in your mind? I almost could not comprehend! :D Plus, the food, like the chocolate mice, made me hungry while reading.

Now, the actual focal point, the star-crossed lovers in this story actually did not annoy me like in most stories. ;) The magic they both possess is very strong, and both of them are able to fend for themselves. The male lead, Marco, seems to fall in love very fast, but otherwise the love seemed very true to life. They teased and taunted each other. They amazed each other. They were their perfect match. Very nicely written!

My one complaint of this whole book is that everything is written with so much elegance, that it is written so smoothly, that it transitions so easily, I really cannot pinpoint a climax for the book. :/ There's no part where the reader's adrenaline is pumping to find out what happens next.

So, as a whole, the book is amazing. It could use a little more suspense or tension, but the pure magic and purity found in this circus makes up for it 100x over! If an arrogant, anti-romantic someone like me could like it so much, I bet you will too. :3 ( )

Very much loved the writing: the descriptions; the characterizations; the development, structure and pace of the story. The circus and the characters were very imaginatively done. The magical feats were beautifully imagined and described. The romance was very well done. I pretty much liked everything about it and considered whether it should be rounded up to 5 stars - may still do that. ( )

I so wanted to love this, everything about this book is visually arresting, the book looks beautiful, the descriptive writing is beautiful, no it's magnificent,lush and breathtaking; it reads like a Tim Burton film looks.

The black and white striped tents of the Night Circus hold wonders such as an ice garden, acrobatic kittens, a cloud maze and bottles that release stories when uncorked complete with smells, sounds and taste.

The imagery is overwhelming and begs to be made into a film so the amazing scenery and costumes can be brought to life

The whole book is a feast for the senses and so stylised that Pinrest and Tumblr accounts dedicated to The Night Circus are springing up everywhere
The Night Circus

Within all this imagination and creativity, for me, and the author, the the characters and story came a poor second.

I just couldn't connect with the two leads, I felt no insight into their characters, I never knew them, in fact I didn't even like them. I thought their story was weak and never felt that the 'duel' was a matter of life or death. It is a shame that Marco and Cecilia were the main focus of the story and felt that the author missed an opportunity as there were far more interesting characters in the story.

I liked Bailey's story which took up a huge part of the book but then as Celia says at the end Bailey was basically nobody who happened to be in the right place at the right time.....so why...?

Also the story never fully describes how the magic in the book works or even how the competition itself works. For example how do they set up the circus and where do they all go during the day? I know you should just go with it but I can't ...I want to know!

A triumph of style over substance. ( )

Despite how much I heard about this book (and considering I've been sitting on it for a year and half or so, it's quite a bit) it was not at all what I was expecting. That was quite magical and lovely, actually. Not at all what I thought I was getting into, but lovely all the same.

Despite how much I heard about this book (and considering I've been sitting on it for a year and half or so, it's quite a bit) it was not at all what I was expecting. That was quite magical and lovely, actually. Not at all what I thought I was getting into, but lovely all the same.

I can't quite give it a 5 - it might not be for everyone.
I don't normally enjoy any 'fantasy/magic' in my reading, yet I'm so glad to have read this one. It's long and required the usage of several state libraries (IL & MI) and several ebook checkouts.
It is a recommend.
Unusual and not what I expected, but TRY IT ! ( )

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

Gah! What a supremely boring book.

The prose is near perfect, and the descriptions are the best I’ve ever read. But good writing and beautiful descriptions does not a good book make!

This book was boring. I was promised a deadly duel to the death between two star-crossed magic-making lovers, trained since childhood to… destroy each other, perhaps. Instead I was delivered a slow-burn of somewhat related skits interspersed with pretty good second-person descriptions of the most wondrous circus ever imagined. The rivals didn’t even know who each other was until halfway through the book! And the so called ‘game’? What exactly was the point? To prove someone gifted with magic was better at it than someone who learned it through books (or vice versa)? Each ‘move’ was supposed to be an additional tent in the circus? How did that prove anything? And the winner is the person who survives? So, what, exactly, does that mean – that the person who perishes somehow self-combusted from using magic?

And just like… what? What was so ‘mysterious’ about everything? You can’t just dance around in circles, waving your arms and going ‘woooooo, I’m so spooky and mysterious!’ You need to actually give me some answers. It wasn’t mysterious at all, it was just vague!

You know when you watch magic tricks and you think OMG THAT IS SO AMAZING HOW DID HE PULL THE RABBIT OUT OF THAT HAT? Or OMG HE IS REALLY SAWING THAT CHICK IN HALF!
And then you learn there’s a secret compartment in the hat hiding the rabbit, or that the chick is really squished up into one half of the box, and the trick is forever ruined?

That was like this book. Except without the magic tricks.

“But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway
Behind the scenes? No, it’s in front of EVERYONE. And a fierce competition? Dude, this ‘competition’ makes slug fights look interesting.

a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.
1) I don’t see any duels!
2) EXPRESSELY FOR WHAT PURPOSE? Just because you never answer this question doesn’t make it mysterious!

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.
Celia: La la la, I think I’ll create a pretty tent.
Marco: (two years later) Oh yes, here’s another tent that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and it’s certainly not a new move in this ‘game’ (because how does that make sense?)

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.
Headfirst? Dude knows who his rival is for years before approaching her. Love from afar is not headfirst. And even if he was in love with her for so long, love without evidence is stalking.

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.
The game must play out? What game? Literally no one else is involved in the ‘game’. It doesn’t affect the patrons, and it only weirdly affects the other performers because someone else stuck their nose somewhere it wasn’t wanted!

The best part about this book was the descriptions. But even they were presented peeking through fingers over eyes as if to say, ‘If I look too closely, I’ll spoil the MAGIC.’

Also, I found Bailey and Poppet’s romance more interesting than Marco and Celia’s! The romance is definitely NOT and angle to promote in this book.

That being said, I freaking loved reading about all of Celia’s magic. Her colour-changing gown? How did no one realise that was real magic? I want one of those!

This book was not for me, even though I believed BASED ON THE BLURB that it was. My problem was not with the pacing, because I could have read those gorgeous descriptive passages for a long time. My problem is that this mysterious duel between two lovers was never more than a fart in a Jacuzzi. ( )

Finally sat down and read this novel; I just couldn't put it down! You can read my review of it on my blog (contains some spoilers!): http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=2771 ( )

Finally sat down and read this novel; I just couldn't put it down! You can read my review of it on my blog (contains some spoilers!): http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=2771 ( )

I'm skittish of overly popular books. I'm usually the one who doesn't like the book that everyone else is praising. So I steered clear of The Night Circus by Erin Morgensternuntil I could no longer give in to lure of the beautiful cover art. I opted for the audio version as I often do with longer books because I can listen a little bit at a time without ticking clock of the due date.

The Night Circus opens with a tour. It arrives without warning and is open only at night. It's only colors are black and white. Fans of the circus, some who travel around the world to follow it, dress the part but add a bit of red. Though none of them expect it, they hold the key to the circus's continued existence.

Morgenstern presents the chronology of the Cirque des Rêves out of order. Listening on audio, I had to keep track of the dates mentioned at the start of each chapter. At first I missed a few things but once I noticed that things weren't in order, I paid better attention. As a fan of logic puzzles, I enjoyed trying to piece the story back together.

The heart of the book, though, and the part that will either make it or break it for you, is the competition between two aged magicians through their student proxies, Celia and Marcus. They are bound to each other and the only way to win the game is to kill the other. Caught up in the middle of this battle to the death is the circus itself.

The problem with complex projects is that they take on a life of their own. The Cirque des Rêves is no exception. That the resolution of the novel hinges more on the continuation of the circus over Celia and Marcus's competition and ill fated romance is a bone of contention for many reviewers. I liked it. No, I loved that all that dramatic build up (so common in fantasy) ended up being a few nights of closure for the circus. There was no threat to the world or the universe — just a magical but still petty competition resulting in a personal tragedy.

For me, therefore, the true protagonists of this complex fantasy are Bailey — a boy who doesn't want to inherit the family farm — and the twins born at the start of the circus, Poppet and Widget. It's their story that caused me to make excuses to sit in my car for a few minutes longer.

I have also gotten a copy in tradepaper to re-read the book in print form, just as I did The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente. ( )

Great first effort by a talented writer. I read that the author is an artist as well, and it definitely comes through in her evocative, detailed descriptions of the night circus. It's hard to pull of a book that relies so heavily on descriptive passages and I think she does pull it off, but to the detriment of her characters.That said, I loved the picture she painted of the Night Circus and will remember it like an actual place that I have been, rather then an imaginary one described in a book.
Another issue I had with the story was her reliance on cliche, mostly in dialog. Some of the things the characters say to each other is just bad--particularly Mr. A. H-- and Hector Bowen, and the romantic dialog between Celia and Marco. Cliche-ridden!


*SPOILER ALERT!!*
I liked Celia, and I liked Poppet and Widget and Bailey a lot. But everyone else felt sort of 2 dimensional to me. Even Marco--I can't decide if I really liked him or not. He's a bit of a jerk, and his treatment of Isabel and Chandresh makes it hard to feel sorry for him. Both him and Celia were treated badly by their caregivers, but Celia emerged a sensitive, caring person, and he emerged rather cold and calculating. And yet we're supposed to believe that they fall in love...I sort of missed how they fell in love....I mean, yes, they are bound to each other, etc., but is it the magic that makes them fall in love, or is something else. I was unclear on that.

*END SPOILER ALERT!!*

Despite my criticisms, it was a good book! I read the whole thing on my Android phone, mostly in the dark, while nursing or rocking my newborn. An interesting reading experience for an interesting story. ( )

I struggled with how many stars to give this one. In the beginning it would have been two. I thought it was OK but slow. The imagery is great but the story was slow and hard to follow. It jumps back and forth in time and I had to page back to remind myself where we were on the timeline. By the time I was half way through the book I was more engaged and enjoying it more. My 75% in I really liked it. In the end I enjoyed it and have recommended it to others but I still have some questions about what happened and how the characters fit together. I fluctuate between thinking I really liked the book and thinking it was just OK. Hence a 3 star rating.
( )

Un circo notturno, un insieme di spettacoli e artisti incredibili, oltre l'immaginazione e la fisica del mondo.
Un circo che è anche una gara, un luogo in cui si sfidano due maghi, Marco e Clelia, partecipanti senza possibilità di scelta da due antichi esperti nelle arti di incantamento.
Per i due ragazzi però il circo sarà molto più di un gioco portando loro una famiglia - per quanto particolare -, amore e la sensazione di appartenere a qualcosa di bello.
Romanzo dotato di una scrittura affascinante e ricca tanto quanto l’ambientazione: alcune tende sono così immaginifiche e particolari che mi spiace non esistano.
Il rapporto tra i due protagonisti non è banale e i personaggi sono ben valorizzati nelle loro particolarità; decisamente un romanzo interessante.

---
The night circus, a combination of wonderful exhibitions and artists, beyond imagination and physics.
A circus that is also a challenge, where two magicians confront themselves, Marco and Clelia, forced to the game by two ancient enchanters.
To the two the circus will be more than a game since it will bring them a family – a very peculiar one indeed -, love and the sensation of belonging to something beautiful.
A novel written with a fascinating and rich language as much as the settings: some tents are so wonderful it’s a pity they don’t exist.
The relation between the two main character is not trivial and the characters are well valued in their peculiarity; overall an interesting novel. ( )

The Night Circus arrives without any advance warning. It just appears on the outskirts of a town and draws people to it. The all black-and-white circus amazes people with its fantastical elements, and it is an experience that stays with its attendees forever. Little do the common people know that there is an ongoing competition within the circus. Two young people have been selected to compete against one another in a battle of skill and imagination. Despite their destiny to be opponents, Celia and Marco fall in love and must contend with the consequences of their choices.

Morgenstern’s novel garnered a fair amount of publicity and critical acclaim when it was published last year. Topping many of the best of lists for 2011, the book also managed to make a number of lists of adult fiction recommended for young adults. Rich description, lush writing, and an absolutely creative premise make this book a standout. It’s already been optioned for a film, and its cinematic story will translate beautifully to the screen.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. A lack of character development for the book’s two leads combined with pacing problems and a surplus of secondary and tertiary characters made this book an uneven read at best. However, the book’s undeniably beautiful prose and moving conclusion helped make up for some of the issues with the story.

Part of the problem present here is that despite the fact that the two main characters are supposed to be in competition with one another, there’s never any sense of true tension. At one point, Celia remarks about the fact that the game feels more like a “dual exhibition,” and she’s never proven wrong. Even though there’s some loss of life, both Marco and Celia never seem to be in any real peril. They also remain fairly static throughout the course of the novel, and since the book spans much of their lives, this feels oddly inauthentic.

The fact that there are so many characters who populate this novel is also problematic. The chapters jump around in time and focus on a wide variety of people. While this is a neat narrative trick, it’s only partially successful, because some of the characters are much more interesting than the others (I could have done with way more of the twins and way less of pretty much everyone else). It’s hard to keep everyone straight, and at a certain point, you start to wonder why you should have to, anyway.

Some readers won’t mind the issues I found in this book. It’s got a sort of magical realism to its story that makes it intriguing in a very unique way. The descriptions will be enough to keep some readers satisfied, and others will revel in the love story between the two magicians (though I kept feeling like something was missing). Despite my issues with the book, I can see this one’s appeal, absolutely. I’ll definitely be seeing the movie.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Doubleday: 2011. Borrowed copy. ( )

A friend recommended this book to me. She said it was exactly my type of book, and she was right!

2 weeks ago I went to see the author at a book signing. I think hearing her discuss her many drafts and revisions of the book, the characters, and the progression of the story gave me a very deep appreciation for the story, it's setting, and the lives of the characters. At the book signing, Erin Morgenstern said two things about the book; it's not a sequel, and it's not the next Harry Potter. I completely agree with both of those statements.

First, the ending of the book was very final--at least to me, and I felt closure after reading the last sentence in the book. While I knew the characters would continue to live on in their world, I didn't feel the need to know more about their lives. Their story had a beginning, a middle, and enough of an ending for me.

As for it being the next Harry Potter, I don't know where that comparison originated, but if you begin reading this book expecting it to contain elements of Harry Potter, you might be disappointed. It is not the mystical world of J.K. Rowling, but Morgenstern creates a world that feels completely grounded in reality with hints of magic and wonder. Actually if I had to compare this to another work of fiction, I would have to say it's reminiscent of the world created in Big Fish, which I also loved.

Set in the late 1800's to early 1900's, and unlike the world of Harry Potter where wizards and witches are almost removed from the world of muggles, this story takes place in a world with a lot of unsuspecting humans. Only a select few believe and are trained enough to practice the art of illusion which somehow makes it feel more real than the world of Harry Potter, because anyone can practice or develop the skills if they truly desire it. The ultimate goal of the challenge that takes place in the book is for the two contestants to showcase their abilities in front of the general public and to create what the public believes are illusions without them--the public—suspecting anything is amiss.


Overall, the story was beautifully crafted and well told. Every time I picked up the book, it felt like I was being told a story from a wise storyteller. I truly think you should pick up a copy of this book. And, if you have the opportunity, visit one of the author's many upcoming book signings.
( )

I want to make this perfectly plain from the start: I absolutely loved this book. I cannot recall being so entranced by a novel in quite some time, not since I first read Harry Potter I think, and so I suppose that's one of the reasons others have compared this to Harry Potter. I loved the night circus setting more than I have loved any other setting in recent memory. From the descriptions of the food (caramel popcorn, cinnamon...things, apple cider) to the individual acts themselves to the accoutrements and decorations (the extraordinary clock comes to mind), I felt from page one like I was truly visiting the most supremely wonderful circus imaginable. Beyond merely the circus itself, certain concepts like the midnight dinners were simply so well described that I could not help but feel like a guest myself. Ms. Morgenstern has an incredible talent for the descriptive that is simply to be marveled at.

I will admit that the characters do feel somewhat two dimensional. The love story seemed forced to me (the lovers seemed to fall in love with very little interaction whatsoever), though I suppose upon reflection that the nature of the lovers' situation explains this to some degree. And too often I felt like legitimate questions should have been raised by certain characters, and nevertheless this did not occur. As a reader who typically enjoys characters the most and finds an author's artificial interference with or failure to flesh them out a cardinal sin, one would imagine this would lead me to rank the book lower than I have. But much as my inner critic would perhaps like to do this, I cannot deny that this was one of the most pleasurable book experiences I have had in some time, so flaws with the characters be damned. If that makes me a shallow critic who cannot bear to step away from the art that he simply enjoys, so be it.

While the time jumps were at times distracting, the jumps are not some mere narrative technique employed for its own sake, but because it makes the story more cohesive and layered as a whole. As I reached the end of the novel, I realized why the timing had been chosen by Ms. Morgenstern, and in a novel that emphasizes timing as much as she has, it makes perfect sense to have done it this way.

I can also understand the criticism of the book's many, many perspectives. It was difficult at times to keep what each of the characters knew about what was going on straight in my mind, but I also felt that the multiple perspectives led me to experience the circus in a richer way, and so for me I can't fault the author for this either.

If you don't like rich descriptions, this novel is probably not for you. If you don't enjoy magic, this novel is probably not for you. But if you long to escape from the day to day tedium that real life can often present into a world where it seems literally anything can happen, The Night Circus might be exactly what you need. ( )

That was an enchanting tale. Following the Night Circus from before it's conception to well after the torch is passed, each character developing along the way. An excellent read. ( )

This book is an enchantment. From the very start it slowly catches you up in the circus itself. You can never imagine every inch of it, never know it, but you feel like a rêveur yourself, as if you've walked through the tents and tried the food and smelt the popcorn and chocolate mice and fire and all the strange perfumes of the circus. I think it's that, more than anything, that made me love this book so much: I was interested in the fate of Celia and Marco, but mostly because it impacted the circus, and I couldn't stand the idea of anything bad happening to the circus.

I did get caught up in the other parts of the plot too, don't get me wrong: I loved the references to Merlin, which sort of clued me in on where certain things were going; I liked a lot of the characters, especially the ones with secrets; I loved all the details, and how they all came together.

Possibly this is not quite a five star book, compared to some of the other books I've rated five stars, but it swept me off my feet, so I'm giving it five stars anyway. I found it magical -- and I'm keeping a copy around, because I think I'll reread it someday. ( )

Love love loved it! The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is some of the language seemed a bit awkward. ( )

This is a truly unique and wonderful novel, about telling stories and living inside the imagination. It is fresh and beautifully imagined and I loved every moment of reading it. ( )