The Night Circus

A Novel

By: Erin Morgenstern

Narrated by: Jim Dale

Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2011 Erin Morgenstern (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

" The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for, and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty, and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book." (Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife)

"Self-assured, entertaining debut that blends genres and crosses continents in quest of magic…. Generous in its vision and fun to read. Likely to be a big book—and, soon, a big movie, with all the franchise trimmings." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Debut author Morgenstern doesn't miss a beat in this smashing tale of greed, fate, and love... a giant, magical story destined for bestsellerdom. This is an electric debut on par with Special Topics in Calamity Physics." ( Publishers Weekly)

The Night Circus Keeps You Spellbound

A wonderful story that makes you feel that you are under the Big Top watching all three rings with a peek behind the scenes. Not knowing what will happen next and unable to look away. Powerfully descriptive, yet subtle and moving. So different.

I can't stop thinking about this book!

I've read this book before so I had to listen to it. it's beautifully written.

simply one of the best

I love this book! Great story, great performance. Magical. Read it. Listen to it. LOVE it!

WOW! A magical adult fairy tale and love story

What a wonderful, captivating, deceptive and imaginative story! I've never read anything like this before and didn't want the story to end. It was a welcome departure from my normal reading choices and was recommended to me by my daughter who is not only an avid reader, but also a writer. She told me this book was on her top 10 list and that I should read it. I took a chance and was NOT disappointed!

My imagination was stretched to the limit and now I want a clock just like the one at the circus! The details and creativity were amazing.

The narrator did a beautiful job with this well written story!

Truthfully, it was a tough book to put down once I had started reading it. WOW!

a favorite

an absolute favorite. fantastic characters in a beautifully constructed world. We fully believe everything that's happening. It's the absolute epitome of well-written fiction

Marvelous!

A truly delightful story. With many intriguing characters. Wonderfully told by Jim Dale.

I want more!

Original and entertaining!

Shades of Ray Bradbury and "Something Wicked This Way Comes." A great story about star crossed lovers.

terrific story!

loved the story. didn't love the narrator - too intense sometimes. but I got used to him as the story progressed. also hard to keep track of various dates without the visual.

A beautiful dream

To honor the release of Erin Morgenstern’s new book, The Starless Sea, we read her debut novel, The Night Circus. This book has been a favorite of ours since it was released in 2011. The amazing, detailed world Erin created captured our imaginations while the beautiful love story between Celia and Marco captured our hearts. The intimacy between Celia and Marco may not be explicit, but you cannot deny the simmering emotion and intensity that develops as their challenge binds them ever tighter together. Our discussion explores how relationships end and begin and the occasional overlap that can exist when the heart runs away without logic.

Lovely

Some years ago I read this book as a real paperback, in the traditional way and I loved every single page of it. I’m not sure why I lost track of the physical book, since that’s not something I’m known for doing ever, even if I didn’t like one, but when some friends suggested it later as a group read I opted for listening instead and I’m so glad that I did. The story is still wonderfully wondrous and perfect for my tastes in light magical stories. I had no idea until after listening the first time that the narrator was the same one I’d heard rave reviews about from his work reading the Harry Potter series but when I learned that bit it made more sense as to why he seemed to be such a perfect reader for it.
I’ve just finished listening to it for a second time, another few years later, and again I’m so glad that I did. The story is perfect and I love all the extra details and descriptions. I love Morgenstern’s writing, based on this title alone as her second book has only been sitting on my shelf looking pretty, and I look forward to listening again, in the possibly nearer future. Which is also something I’m not known for at all, rereading any books, ever.