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)

A Unique Story with Excellent Narration

This is one of those stories where you feel like you're really in their magical world and anything can happen. Jim Dale's narration with Erin Morgenstern characters and world development are the perfect match.

Enchanted and Romantic

I've always Love mysterious and enchanted world of another world. Reading this novel is like entering the world of a more Romantic Ghibil world. I like all the characters but wish there's more in depth to them. regardless I still love it anyway

If you love fantasy, you will likely love this!

Just wonderful, Magical! I loved every minute of this. The characters are well developed. The scenes are described to perfection giving you vivid images of fantastical scenes. The story is well plotted. There isn't a thing I didn't enjoy!
I see on the internet that for a number of years this has been slated for a movie......I can't wait!

Barnum Museum as a fantasy romance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! It's so fun and creative! The tone was sweet and lilting. There was a cute romance.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The twins!

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

I really love his voice.

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

No

Any additional comments?

This is like The Barnum Museum with just the fantastical exhibits, woven with a story! I love the magic here, and love the concept of two immortal beings being complete cowardly heartless beasts, I love the addition of "The oldest and most powerful magic" LOVE, and of course, I loved it because I really just want to go visit the Night Circus myself. My favorite bits really were the descriptions of the circus, and the fantastical elements. This was a light story, not to be taken too seriously, and quite entertaining.

A lovely story

A lovely story, I appreciated that there was not a lot of overwhelming darkness.
The performance was marvelous, and I wished for just a little bit more from the end of the book.

unique story

Definitely a unique story. A different spin on love and magic. Great characters. Surreal settings.

Don't look too deep

This is an enjoyable book but the more you look the flatter the characters become. The two main characters showed no growth.

So good. Like so. Good.

I loved it. Jim Dale is an amazing narrator. The story was wonderful. I could not stop listening. Honestly, this is a must read. One of my new favorite books now.

Loved this!

The voice actor really adds to the magical theme of this book! I loved listening to him. The story is great too, with characters you’ll love!

No conflict and no sense of time

Written beautifully and vividly, but without an actual conflict, the story has nothing to drive interest in the characters. Time passes like a awkward throw-away concept where months and years pass arbitrarily and is sometimes just part of excessive hyperbole... Someone needs to help out with the plot and then this would be a charming novel.