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)

Wonderful, fantastical story

I do not typically like books like this, but after my husband recommended it, I tried it out. It took a little while to get me interested, as it started a little slow, but once I let go and immersed myself in the world of the Night Circus, I was hooked.

Wasn't for me - did not find it interesting.

Did not grab me at all. Not sure what the hype.was about.Was recommended to me but found it disappointing.

Great!

I love this book so much and listen to it often. Every time I am so sad when it is done!

Jim Dale so it's gotta be good...

Enjoyed stepping into the fantasy world of this circus. The imagery of the setting, the complications with the characters (trying to be vague), and the chapter about the fans e
specially were fantastic. Would recommend.

MAGICAL

I loved this book and I have listened to it multiple times.
Jim Dale's narration brings every character and location to life. I can SEE everyone and everything. I cannot recommend this wondrous book and it's brilliant narration too much. Sit back, close your eyes and experience the NIGHT CIRCUS.

Lived It

What a beautifully written and whimsical book, like adult Harry Potter! The audible version was well told.

Very intriguing story!!

I loved listening to this story in my car. The reader has the perfect voice to capture you and draw you in. The story jumps around a bit on dates so pay attention at the start of each segment to know what time the story is in. I would love to see this become a movie!!

Fantastic plot and stellar narrating

I loved every second of this book. The plot is fascinating, the characters are interesting and the narration is stellar!

An enchanting (if depthless) tale

Many have described this books as the story of a girl and boy who are brought up to challenge each other with their magic and whose battlefield is Le Cirque des Rêves. However, Celia and Marco suffer from a terrible disease: they are the least interesting characters in the book and can be perceived, much like the circus itself, as a mere setting to a much more rich and enchanting story, carried on by the other characters: the twins who are perfectly presented as very mature kids for their ages, the contortionist, the fortune teller...

If Erin Morgenstern's biggest achievement with this book is to create such secondary characters and the circus, her biggest failure is to not pay enough attention to both as the story moves forward and comes to an end. To her credit, the first half of the book is so enchanting and well crafted that this will not make anyone put it down when the second half starts, a little messy and less enchanting.

As for the audiobook version: Jim Dale is probably the main reason why many flaws can be forgiven, since he turns even the dullest sentence into a great one. As the second half of the book arrives, however, the audiobook version makes it harder to keep track of the timeline, since Erin Morgenstern jumps forward and backward a lot.

Pure Transcendent Magic

I have read this book physically twice and decided to download the audio version because Jim Dale is one of my favorite voice actors/readers. The story is truly magical in a way that is indescribable. It’s unlike any other book about magic. It’s beautifully written and it’s story is intricately wound with characters that leave a lasting impression. Jim Dale does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life in a way that reading the book physically hadn’t done for me before. This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time