The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: 2011
Synopsis:
(from GoodReads)
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 amazement. 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 both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
–This Review Contains Spoilers. Read at your own risk—
I enjoyed the book way more than I thought I would. I thought it’d be a little bit boring based on the reviews I had read about it previously. And I also wasn’t sure how I’d like the multiple timelines going on during the story, but I’m actually really enjoying them. There were so many characters and I loved learning about all of them. Marco, Celia, Bailey, Poppet, Widget, and Frederick Theissan. Oh and Chandresh and Alexander. Hector was probably the only character I really didn’t like in this book. I liked both Isobel and Tsukiko as well.
There was so much mystery throughout the book I had so many questions floating around in my head. And I was constantly wondering why there were so many different side character point of views. But in the end everything ties together and suddenly the characters you thought wouldn’t play a big part in the story actually play a big part. And I really enjoyed that part about the ending of the book.
The book is so creative and unique and Erin Morgenstern has this way of writing that made me think I was actually visiting the circus. She has this one point of view that is written in second person and I really enjoyed reading those.
However I wanted more. Not as in I didn’t want the book to ever end. More like I just felt like we were missing so much. I wanted more Marco and Celia. I wanted more of their romance, and their adventures. And the rest of the characters too. Poppet, Bailey, Widget, and Isobel. Isobel just disappeared near the end and we don’t hear from her again. The book usually went from one year to the next without any story about the months between. I wanted to learn more about the characters. And the ending, maybe the author intended for the open ending, and some people enjoy open endings. It adds to the mystery, but I strongly dislike open endings. We never really know what happens to Marco and Celia. Or the rest of the characters. Maybe Marco and Celia find out they really can’t stand each other. Can they ever die? And what would happen to the circus if Bailey or either of them dies? There were just so many questions left unanswered and they will probably continue to eat at me for the rest of my life. I really hope nothing bad happens to Celia and Marco or the circus and the rest of the characters. But like I said, we’ll never know.
Overall I’d probably actually give this book a 4.7 or maybe 4.8 stars. I really did enjoy this book. It was such a beautiful and magical story and I fell in love with so many of the characters. It is definitely something I will try to eventually reread so I can further understand the book and maybe pick up on things I may have missed.
4 out of 5 stars
★★★★
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So let’s discuss! What did you guys think of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern? Were you satisfied with the ending? I know some people were. I really did enjoy the book though it was very beautiful and mysterious. I really do hope Marco and Celia live a very happy (are the living?) life. Thanks for reading!
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