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)

Read AGAIN and AGAIN

If you are looking for magic and wonder, look no further. One of my absolute favorites!

Second time

This was my second time listening to this book. Enjoyed it even more.. Good read.

pure magic

If you like anything from Neil Gaiman, this will be completely satisfying. I will be reading more from this author for sure.

Jim Dale brings the magic of the night circus to life!

Words cannot express how wonderful the audio version of this book was. The night circus is one of my all-time favorites and Jim Dale bring some magical dream like quality to life

Jim Dale and Erin Morgenstern are magic.

I read the story years ago and was enchanted but wanted to explore the Night Circus through the medium of an audio book. Jim Dale was perfection, bringing this delightful world to life with his clear and charismatic voice, his narration breathing life into the fantasy.

Interesting plot and detailed/sensual prose, but very cheesy romance.

I really like the plot of this book. And the different characters and their individual stories (and how they all intertwine with each other). I found the general writing to be quite beautiful as well. My only real issue with this book was the way the romance was portrayed. It was very cliché and predictable. I started to dislike the main characters a lot and dread when they were in a scene (which is hard because they’re the main characters...). The romance between them seemed very Twilight-esque. Overall, still entertaining with good fantasy characteristics.

Enchanting

Wonderfully narrated. it reminded me of the magic I felt when I visited the circus...only more so. With or without a crimson scarf, I am a reveure at heart.

The Circus of Dreams

Where does The Night Circus rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the very best audiobooks ever. It was designed to be read aloud, and I love Jim Dale's voices. I don't understand why he made the twins Irish, but it worked for me.

What other book might you compare The Night Circus to and why?

The story reminds me of the work of Isak Dinesen, because it's so imaginitive and the descriptions make everything come alive.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I didn't want to listen to it all in one sitting. I had to ration my self to a few minutes at a time because I didn't want it to end. It's the kind of book you can listen to over and over and hear something new every time.

Magical, could not put it down!

I LOVED this book! I never write reveiws, but i had to for this unique and beautiful book. And the narrator is fantastic. I will listen to this again to savor it.

Beautifully Imaginitive. You will love this book.

What did you love best about The Night Circus?

The characters. Every single one of them was so brilliantly plotted out and bizarre, but in a good way. Even the antagonist was captivating. You wanted to know more about him, and his reasons for doing the things he did. The individual characters made up a marvelous world which would not have been the same had one of them been missing. Often in book reviews there is a conversation of "wonderful world-building," well this story uses the characters as the building blocks for the entire realm. Pay attention to all of them, and you won't regret it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Night Circus?

I have to pick one? The ice garden, the building of the circus clock, the way Cecelia can blast things to bits and then reassemble them, the idea of memories captured in jars, when Marco introduces himself fully to Isabel... Oh no. I can't pick just one thing. READ THIS BOOK.

What does Jim Dale bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Jim Dale's accent was excellent for the time period of the piece. His voice gives you a since of mystery and age. By age I mean to say that there is a feeling of history to the story that I probably would not have instilled on my own. I enjoyed his narrative in that it was not your usual, flat, American reading. Nothing about this book was ordinary, so why would the narrator be?

Who was the most memorable character of The Night Circus and why?

Again with the picking? The funny thing is that Bailey is probably the most ordinary character in the book, and yet he is the one sticking out in my mind right now. Though having just finished the book, Erin does an exceptionally good job at pulling out the importance of this every day guy. His adventures with Poppet and Widget were some of my favorite moments. I feel like Bailey gave the reader a connection to the circus that those imbued with the mystical "powers" of the Circus could not. Besides, what is a circus without spectators?

Any additional comments?

I've been reading a large number of books lately. The Night Circus captivated me in so many different ways that other books have only managed to catch me in one or two. Both serious and fantastic at the same time this book runs a gamut of emotions. You'll love and hate the lead characters at various points. You'll route for the underdog, and scowl at the "puppet masters." You'll feel for the secondary characters as much as you do for the leads. I want to go to Le Cirque des Rêves!