The Night Circus

A Novel

De: Erin Morgenstern

Narrado por: 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.

Deliciously Imaginative

This beautifully descriptive book could not come out during a better season when the imagination is already a tingle for Halloween. This world created by Ms. Morgenstern rolls out the red carpet for characters are rich and strong in their own right. This is a book that will always be on my iPod.

Some Magical, Some Not So Magical

There is a lot to enjoy in this book, but also much that fell flat despite my expectations especially after reading the glowing reviews.

The Magical:

Descriptions of the circus were truly amazing. How beautifully written it was with the sights and sounds and especially, the smells. How unique to focus on the scents and how powerful it created the reality.

Overall the writing was very well done.

The Not-So-Magical:

While many reviewers were taken by the depth of the characters, I found just the opposite. For the most part, they were pretty one dimensional as they interacted with each other and in the realm of the circus.

The competition went nowhere. A huge build-up throughout the book that I expected to culminate in an apocalypse of some kind, but only quietly and gently ended.

And I had no idea about Jim Dale narrating the Harry Potter series, but I found this book to be very reminiscent of Harry Potter in tone and style.

But this last point seems to differ with every other reviewer. I found Jim Dale's narration to be rather difficult to hear the story or the characters. His tone sounded sinister and I kept hearing sinister characters and bad things about to happen. His voice especially for the female characters was terrible. Sorry.

Something Wicked and Mr. Norrell

This is a debut novel that bounces from descriptive dreamy happening to another. While it is a feast for the senses, it is not much of a connected story. It starts out interesting enough, with two characters reminiscent of JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL and an interesting bet involving two kids, Celica and Marco. After an hour or so, the structure of the story falls apart, as the author tries too hard to rewrite SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. This was written in 2011 and Erin has yet to write another book.

Pass on this, but if she writes another book, check that out, as she shows much promise.

Great Listen

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

Yes Jim Dale is a magician

What did you like best about this story?

ever since i was a kid i have been in love with the circus. its super atmospheric

Which scene was your favorite?

it is almost impossible to pick just one.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the moments between celcia and marco have stuck with me. their interplay is like a slow competitive dance

Any additional comments?

it was a total driveway moment. i'm soo impressed that this is the author's debut

Highly Visual but Lacking Soul

Throughout the book I thought that the descriptions of how events happened was wonderful however I never really found that I cared much for most of the characters. It seemed like the writer was trying so hard to make the place three dimensional that she forgot to make the characters this way as well.

The narration of the book was great and based on the outstanding imagery alone I would not try to dissuade anyone from reading the book. I would also say that for a debut work it seems like this book is a strong showing and I will be interested to see what else the author can do.