The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

Posted by: Redhead on: November 2, 2011

• In: Erin Morgenstern
• 19 Comments

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

published Sept 2011

Where I got it: the library

Why I read it:  Cuz everyone is doing it.

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Le Cirque de Reves, the Circus of Dreams, follows no set schedule.  It simply appears where it needs to be.  Circus tents in stark black and white stripes tempt you from your every day doings to visit a magical place that only opens at night. Tents might feature illusionists, or contortionists, or trees ablaze with wishes or bottles full of places. You never know until you look, and you better take advantage of it while you can, for it will disappear without notice.

Really, how could anyone possibly say no to that?  Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus has been getting buckets of attention lately.  I saw an entire end cap  of this book at Barnes and Noble the other day, a wall of black and white and red and silver, you couldn’t not stop as you walked by.  I watched people approach tentatively, pick up a book, look at it, and smile. It was as if they were petting kittens for the first time.

But I suppose the concept of this story isn’t unlike a soft purring kitten with eyes you could drown in:

Once upon a time, there were two magicians.  They were friends of a sort, but also fierce competitors. Each believed his way of doing magic was the correct one, and that his friend was wrong.  The two magicians would pit their best students against one another, each student coming to the venue having learned their master’s style of magic.  The students are usually aware they are involved in an epic competition, but the rules are secret, as are the victory conditions. And when a winner prevails, everyone will know right away.  It is an unexpected development when the two current students fall in love.

And that’s all I’m going to tell you, because part of the beauty of this book is how the plot very slowly comes together, with Morgenstern giving us many short chapters that aren’t in chronological order.  Don’t let the non-chronological order thing make you nervous, there is no better way of telling this story.

Morgenstern focuses on the beauty of everything, showing us impossible illusions inside circus tents, paths that circle in upon themselves, labyrinths with ever changing rooms, magical bonfires, and more.  Immersing us in sights and smells and colors and patterns, Morgenstern’s words are a paintbrush, splashing vibrant paint on stretched canvas, creating an endless mural. If for no other reason, read this book for the incredible visuals.  If you’re looking for something that’s easy to get into and pleasurable to read, this is the book for you.

Magic works because we don’t resist it. If you insist on looking behind the curtain all you’ll find are frayed edges.

The beautiful visuals and flowing language make up for most of my little nit picks, as this is a very good book and you should read it. But to be honest, it did fall short for me.  I’d have loved to gotten to know the characters a little better, and I found the conclusion fairly predictable. Most of all, I wish Morgenstern had taken more risks with this, taken conversations just a little further, or provided just a little more background on our two magicians.  The Night Circus is not a character based story, so me being annoyed at something that’s not supposed to be there is tantamount to be pissed because there isn’t a T-Bone on the menu at the Vegan restaurant. Regarding the predictability, this isn’t a story about the end, it’s a story about the journey, so again, me finding it predictable isn’t the worst thing that could have happened. it’s just a thing,  just me insisting on looking behind the curtain.

Tags: circus, fairy tale, fantasy, magic, magicians, romance