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)

Enchanting Book

We listened to it on a road trip. It made the time fly. My 11 year old daughter loved it.

fascinating and dreamlike.

I couldn't wait to finish it. I plan to read it again to get all the nuances.

What a Lovely Story

The story is quite original and fun to listen to. I highly recommend it. I now want to take a trip to this magical circus!

Believe the hype! Yes, 5 stars!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Night Circus to be better than the print version?

Sorry, I have not read the print version.

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

I wouldn't compare it to anything else...

Have you listened to any of Jim Dale’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Excellent as usual!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Must See!!

Any additional comments?

I was suspicious of this book. So often books like this get great reviews but end up disappointing me. NOT THIS ONE!

Amazing Narration But Story Not Quite There

Was utterly captivated and loved this book up until the last two hours. It was like witnessing a beautifully graphic painting with words. Incredible character building. Just seems to sorely lack an actual story line. Kind of jumps all over the place and never really explains it self in the end!

Magical Intrigue. I Want To Go To There.

I purchased a his book because I saw it was narrated by Tim Dale (same narrator for the Harry Potter series). The voices are similar to Harry Potter voices, but the experience is no less magical.

The story is filled with magic and wonderful imagery. There are mysteries discovered throughout the entirety of the novel, and in the mix of it, a love story woven into every aspect.

This book is about magic and adventure and love. Wonderful imagery and pleasant writing make this book the perfect escape. When it is over, I mourned the magic and the characters I had become so invested in.

Magical

Wow. I was totally enthralled by just how magical and lovely The Night Circus was.

The writing throughout The Night Circus was atmospheric and simply gorgeous. In many ways, I was reminded of the style used in the Strange the Dreamer duology. To me, the joy of reading this book was found in the overall experience and immersive nature of the text. The circus itself was absolutely fantastic. There was such creativity shown through the description of each tent and attraction that was featured. I particularly loved the interludes that inserted the reader (yes, YOU) into this imaginative setting.

I concede that there isn't much of a plot -- at least one in the traditional sense. If you need to have a clearly defined sequence of events, rising/falling action, climax, etc., this isn't the book for you. The majority of the story includes a series of snapshots over a period of 30+ years. As readers, we witness as a group of individuals come together to create something wondrous while two magicians hone their magical abilities in preparation for a competition that is looming ahead of them. Meanwhile, a young boy discovers and explores the wonders of the circus alongside a set of precocious siblings. Sometimes these events felt rather disjointed, but by the end I realized the extent to which everything was connected.

Celia was an absolute delight and I loved her from the very start. Despite everything she endured over the years, her talents flourished and she was capable of creating stunning illusions. It took me a little longer to warm to Marco, but once he started interacting regularly with Celia, I enjoyed him more. I loved their different approaches to magic: Marco's being rather precise and calculated while Celia's involved a showy, performance-centric style. I was awed by the power they each demonstrated at various stages. I was especially impressed by Celia's ability to produce and juggle multiple illusions at once.

Even though I knew this involved a romantic storyline, the romance kind of snuck up on me as it was not as integral during the first half and then was slowly introduced later. I was already invested in the more prominent storyline involving the mysterious competition and the creation of the circus, but as the attraction between these two characters began to grow, my overall interest soared. The development of their relationship was sweet and slow, beautiful and tragic -- which made it all the more appealing to me.

While I wasn't as enamored with many of the other characters, I loved the added depth each one provided and the roles they played to make the whole story feel even more real. Of all of the secondary characters, the twins and Bailey grew on me the most over the course of the novel and by the end I appreciated them much more than I had at first.

I admit that I struggled a bit with the last few chapters. At first, I didn't understand everything that had happened and what this meant for all of the characters. Thankfully, a second reading followed by a discussion with another reader confirmed my assumptions and cleared up some of my confusion. Even though I thought the ending could have been stronger and better explained, there was so much of this that just worked for me. It's the moments that tugged at my heartstrings, shocked me, filled me with wonder, made my heart race, and brought me joy that I will remember whenever I think about this book.

Beautifully written

I loved the way this book was written, it’s almost like a poem that transports you to this world that Morgenstern created. I never write reviews but I loved this book so much and the narrator made this book so much fun. I felt as though I was actually seeing, smelling, living in this world with the characters. It was amazing. Recommend to anyone who loves circus books as much as I do.

Excelent listen!

I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this listen. There is a dark undertone beneath the story that is held just far enough from the surface to be tantalizingly scary. The plot twists are so well done they are in plain sight yet completely veiled from the reader.  I found the dates offered at the beginnings of the chapters helpful in following the action. I should have paid more attention to them from the beginning!

The melding of the story with the references to Shakespear makes you invariably look for a direct link and a retelling of one of his tragedies. The tale of the NIght Circus however, is far more than a retelling of an old tale. It is a blend of many things from character studies to stunning landscape paintings.

Jim Dale’s performance, as always, was superb.

Listen to this book

Tremendous performance. Beautiful prose. Delightful story.


Add this to the top of your list you will not be disappointed.

Good for fans of dr who, and Johnathan strange and mr. Norrell