The Night Circus

A Novel

By: Erin Morgenstern

Narrated by: Jim Dale

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • 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.

Something about this book bothered me.

It was a pleasant diversion. And well crafted. But for some reason, I was not pulled into this book as others have been. Jim Dale's performance, as usual, was great. But perhaps I would have liked it more if it had been read by a woman. Maybe the thing that bothers me most about this book is that the premise was more mechanical than emotional. Maybe I did not cotton to the rather cryptic and largely unexplained (until the end, and even then not very well explained) bargain struck at the beginning of the book. Maybe the characters were less than three-dimensional. Maybe it just felt like it was made up as it went along ??? like a children's impromptu story. I don't know. All I do know is that The Night Circus did not thrill me. And I really did want to be thrilled.

It felt really disconnected. Disappointing.

This book had come highly recommended to me by friends, and it's certainly in a genre/era that I enjoy. I read a lot of victorian era fantasy fiction and, usually, I enjoy it immensely. This book, however, was always just a little off the mark. Character development was, presumably, sacrificed for setting development which, ultimately, gave the whole piece a rather hollow feel. There was also a lack of consistency in the characters... It was difficult to determine who were the pro- and antagonists. You found yourself rooting for a character one minute and finding them distasteful in the next. The back story was never really hammered into place, giving everything a rather hazy, made up sort of feel. Reveals were too brief and, as a result, anticlimactic. Possibly the most frustrating thing is that, for a book that supposedly takes place in the late 1800 and 1900's, the romantic relationship between the two protagonists feels uncomfortably modern, bordering on a new age, tantric-y, hipsterish vibe that seems strangely out of place. Likewise, while the IDEA behind the circus seems intriguing and fraught with possibility, much of the descriptions of the attractions/performers sound like the author had recently gone to a Cirque du Soleil show and then wrote what she saw into the narrative. Again... That uncomfortably contemporary feel that felt laid onto the era, rather than emanating from within it.

All in all, I think this author has potential. I think she just probably needs more practice and she should, perhaps, consider writing from within an era that she's actually familiar with. This story had potential too but, alas, that's too late to really be realized. From a performance perspective, Jim Dale did a solid, thorough job here, even if sounding a bit too bumpkinish for some of the more "elite" roles in this book. I am not likely to listen to this again.

Captivating

Any additional comments?

A friend of mine suggested this book to me, and in her review, she noted that this is a book for people who liked Water for Elephants but didn't like the ending. After reading this book, I think that description is pretty much spot on.

This book has similar themes to Water for Elephants. You have the circus and the romance and the time periods aren't too far off. But after that, I would say the comparisons stop. The Night Circus is much more mysterious and mystical than Gruen's book, and Morgenstern does an excellent job of captivating you in the story much like the patrons in her book are captivated by this circus that appears out of nowhere and disappears again almost as if it never was.

I wish that there had been a bit more emphasis on the romantic element. There was a little something lacking in the development of the relationship between the two magicians that I felt would have made the story a bit more cohesive. I also wanted to learn a bit more about Marco's brand of magic which was markedly different from his opponents "natural" talent, but alas that remains a mystery to the end.

I read some Goodreads reviews, particularly the bad reviews, and I noticed a theme that's valid and worth a warning. The description for this book uses phrases/words like "fierce competition" "duel" and "remarkable battle." These phrases are an exaggeration. There are no big battles and the competition isn't really a competition. It's pretty much the exact opposite of that which explains some reader's disappointment. This book has a dreamy quality to it that leaves you feeling a bit like you're floating in a pool of water. It is rich in description and dialogue, not action. So if you are looking for action, look elsewhere.

Audiobook review: I loved this guy's voice. It was the perfect match for this story.

The true nature of magic

Like other reviewers mentioned, listening to the wondrous narration by Jim Dale did make me feel I was listening to the latest Harry Potter book. But for me, it drew the listener into this magical world far more quickly than a book generally does. I generally don't even like circuses, because they rarely ever come close to what I anticipated. As a child they scared me, as an adult they seemed rather hackney. But this circus had the most astounding things one could ever imagine. Tents with jars, which when opened has scents that brought you to foreign lands and a tent where everything was frozen with live trees and flowers made of ice, a clock with carvings of seemingly live people and animals acting out miniature scenes....so many incredible unearthly attractions. And of course real magic where folks could levitate and change the structure of solid objects, but also bringing to our attention how much magic is around us to which we give little credence.

Morgenstern has thrown herself, heart and soul, into to her first book. The writing is fresh and spontaneous. The ideas that emerge from the story are very thought provoking and simultaneously delightful. In the midst of the storyline is a poignant allegory on war akin to the brilliance of the movie King of Hearts. It's gently woven into the plot, with a bit of implied violence, yet still powerful and evocative.

Other worldly lore, examining the true nature of magic, evolving characters, endearing love stories and the circus of my dream; one terrific listen. Bought the book to read at the same time, so well did I enjoy the writing. Just wish Le Cirque des Réves came to my town!

"Magic," the man in the grey suit repeats, turning the word into a laugh. "This is not magic. This the way the world is, only very few people take the time to stop and note it. Look around you," he says, waving a hand at the surrounding tables. "Not a one of them even has an inkling of the things that are possible in this world, and what's worse is that none of them would listen if you attempted to enlighten them. They want to believe that magic is nothing but clever deception, because to think it real would keep them up at night, afraid of their own existence."

Spellbinding

I read this book when it came out, and am thrilled to revisit it in audio. I simply adore this novel. The author creates such a gorgeous, lush, intricate and fascinating world for readers to lose themselves in. I chose this as my nighttime trying-to-get-to-sleep book after a knee replacement (sleeping is not easy for several weeks after; hard to get into a comfortable position), and I found myself kind of happy to be awake at 3:00 a.m., because I got to listen to more of The Night Circus! Jim Dale does a marvelous job with the characters and the tone.

If you aren't into magical realism or fantasy, this book is not likely for you, but it is so lovely that I would recommend trying it anyway. You might surprise yourself, and the book will certainly surprise you.