The Night Circus: A Novel

“What kind of circus is only open at night?” (Morgenstern, 3) The Night Circus is enchanting and mysterious. Prepare yourself for a magical story of intrigue and whimsy. Erin Morgenstern will make you feel like you are a part of the circus. Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves. “Trespasser Will Be Exsanguinated.” (Morgenstern, 51). The Plot: The Night Circus begins in 1873 as Prospero the Enchanter learns that he has a daughter to be left in his care; a daughter with a special magical ability. It is this ability that brings about a mysterious meeting and the beginning of a game. As the years go by, Prospero meticulously trains his daughter Celia in the art of illusion, while the man in the grey suit, from the mysterious meeting, trains his student Marco. Both are bound together to play an unknown game with unknown rules until a winner is judged. The Night Circus becomes the arena for this game, and the moves made by Celia and Marco affect everyone involved in the circus. As the years go by, the two begin to fall in love, finding it more difficult to keep playing the game. A choice has to be made, to finish the game at all costs, or to give in to love and let the circus end. Let me just start out by saying that The Night Circus is definitely one that you have to pay attention to the chapter titles and timelines. With that being said, I LOVED this book. I really took my time reading it and soaking it all in and I was astounded by the immense imagery and story building found in this book! Every single piece of information, and person you meet, has some sort of effect on, or part to play in, the circus. There are so many parts to the whole, and even going backward and forward in time with the chapters helps you to understand what is going on within the circus and the game that Celia and Marco are bound to. Between some of the chapters you can also find pieces of a 2nd person point of view story line that makes you FEEL like you are walking through The Night Circus! The plot, the circus detail, and the characters are amazingly written in this one! The first character we are introduced to is Prospero, or Hector Bowen. He is ultimately the reason behind the circus and the plot because of his choice to start the game with his daughter Celia. Though he is an integral part of the story, I found him greedy and cruel and felt that he cared more about the game and it’s outcome then he did his own daughter. In the beginning of the story we are also introduced to Mr. A. H. in the grey suit. He is also an integral part of the story, as he is the mentor of Marco, Celia’s opponent. Mr. A. H. is mysterious, quiet, and quite possibly a murderer. Our main character, Celia is definitely a favorite character of mine. She is strong, beautiful, and talented in her abilities. She also captures my heart because she is a major bookworm, and holds very high morals. It is no wonder that Marco falls in love with her! Celia’s opponent Marco is a man of mystery. He was taken from an orphanage by Mr. A. H., so his background and origin are unknown. In his first encounter with Celia, he seems mildly intimidated and nervous. He becomes very restless in his training, and has slightly devious aspects in his game moves, but he plays the role of a co-main character well. Though we are introduced to many other characters, with them all being integral parts of the story and the circus, we have one other main character to consider. Bailey is introduced to us further in the story, and further in the future, and starts off as a circus spectator. He begins to build a relationship with the twins, Poppet and Widget (whom were born in the circus on opening night, thus being endowed with magical abilities), and in time, becomes a very important piece to the story. It is Bailey’s childish innocence and ability to dream that ties things together and ultimately offers a resolution to the game. “When you were five years old you turned a laundry tub into a pirate ship and launched an attack against my hydrangeas in my garden.” (Morgenstern, 87). I recommend reading this one slowly so you can take it all in. You will truly feel like part of the circus. Pay close attention to the dates in front of the chapters and let yourself be immersed into the imagery of The Night Circus. “You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.: (Morgenstern, 387).

While I didn’t connect with the story quite the way many readers seem to, I still really enjoyed the experience. The intricate magic, mysterious atmosphere, and secrecy surrounding the challenge kept me intrigued. What I especially loved was the love story unfolding behind the scenes—it added a beautiful emotional layer to the story. Definitely a book I’d revisit in the future, if only to wander through the circus one more time. 🎪✨

Ms. Morgenstern has created that sublimely rare gem of great narrative, compelling characters, and a superb setting using finely crafted writing; all of this accomplished in her debut novel. As I have noted elsewhere, there are a number of authors who are successful; they provide a good read and keep us connected to their novels that do one or two of these things well. They might provide good narrative and a compelling world of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. Her characters are fine but the writing is just adequate. She doesn't carefully craft her sentences. Many people look down their nose at Ms. Meyers, but there are many, possibly most writers who are good at some of these aspects of storytelling that are still worthwhile to read. I've read the entire Twilight series as well as The Host. I'm glad I did. She is successful for a reason, but she doesn't execute on every one of these elements of writing. Morgenstern is one of those very rare authors who do it all. Each sentence, description and phrase is a marvel. She almost takes the care of a poet, but over many pages. We become fully immersed in her characters, her world and her story. We do so in the "air" of her exquisite writing. She is a delight to read. I will pre-order anything she cares to write. As she's noted in her blog, she won't be cranking out a book ever year; I'm absolutely good with that. Her writing is worth the wait (said now in the early cycle of waiting for her next piece). The Night Circus contains a number of threaded stories that weave together into a beautiful, whole cloth. The book would have been great just getting to the circus or just with the character studies of the principles and the unfolding of their relationships. It would be a great novel simply living within the magical elements or immersed in the parties at la maison Lèfevre. Not only does it have all of these elements but weaves them together in a beautiful dance that provides a coherent overall show. Of course, don't take my stilted words for it but let's see a marvelous example: "The Cloud Maze An Excursion in Dimension A Climb Though the Firmament There Is No Beginning There Is No End Enter Where You Please Leave When You Wish Have No Fear of Falling Inside, the tent is dark-walled with an immense, iridescent white structure in the center. Bailey can think of nothing else to call it. It takes up the entirety of the tent save for a raised path along the perimeter, a winding loop that begins at the tent entrance and circles around. The floor beyond the path is covered with white spheres, thousands of them piled like soap bubbles. The tower itself is a series of platforms swooping in odd, diaphanous shapes, quite similar to clouds. They are layered, like a cake. From what Bailey can see, the space between layers varies from room enough to walk straight through to barely enough to crawl. Here and there parts of it almost float away from the central tower, drifting off into space."[i] I will not go into the storyline (see Amazon's synopsis here) in fear of given away the plot. I simply will conclude with unfettered praise for Ms. Morgenstern's writing; she is absolutely fabulous. A couple of side notes: I jumped between the Kindle edition of this and the audible (despite the fact that Whispersync for Voice isn't enable on the Windows Phone 8 app - I'm looking @ you Audible development team). Jim Dale (of Harry Potter fame) does a wonderful job reading The Night Circus. If you like listening to audiobooks, I highly recommend his work. The second note I wanted to make is that reading this work gives me hope for a more civil, connected public discourse in an increasingly divisive America. I suspect that Ms. Morgenstern and I have starkly different views of social, political and theological issues. I don't know this, but a New Englander that graduated from Smith would not share the same worldview with a conservative Christian living in the South. Despite this, Ms. Morgenstern draws me completely into her world; I absolutely connect with her in the portion of her thought life she makes available in her work. This encourage me. If we can connect, surely we Americans can connect with one another better, have a more civil discourse in those areas where we diverge and listen to one another more often. I don't anticipate that we would change each other's views; I do believe we can respect each other without doing so. There seems to be this thought the tolerance for one another depends or either not believing there is an objective truth ("what you believe is true for you but not me") or we should not be strong in our convictions (if you are, you're a fundamentalist). I would rather have us acknowledge our stark differences and firmly, but humbly, hold our beliefs and yet be civil to one another. The connection engendered by Ms. Morgenstern and her work gives me hope that this is possible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [i] The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern, Kindle Edition, Location 3151

A friend recommended this book to me. I had not read anything by this author, but I decided to try it after reading a few reviews. “The Night Circus” is a New York Times best seller and has had many rave reviews. Of course, there are always some readers out there who have no taste for this type of fantasy. I was glad I took the plunge and bought this book. I loved it! . The Night Circus is magical, surreal and utterly captivating. Originally, I bought the book on Audible. I was hooked by the Audible version. The narrator, Jim Dale, is excellent. He made the characters come alive and pulled me deeply into the story. I enjoyed the Audible version so much that I bought the paperback, from Amazon, as well. Incidentally, the paperback cover is beautifully done and is in keeping with the magic within. What a gorgeous paperback! Erin Morgenstern takes the reader on a journey of the imagination, a disorienting but exhilarating ride that juxtapositions reality and fantasy. It is like a fairytale that is set in the late 19th century. It could almost be one of Hans Christian Anderson’s tales, but it is certainly more intense and intricate. The circus suddenly appears in a field. A small boy, Bailey, waits for it to open, but he reads a sign that says it is only open at night. He thinks that is odd, so he hangs around the gate and sneaks in. He keeps coming back to the circus and is befriended by the twins Poppet and Widget who perform tricks with kittens. He is obsessed with the circus and feels like this is his real home. His family does not approve of his obsession with the circus, so Bailey has to sneak out at night when his whole family is sleeping. He meets a group of “Reveurs” or dreamers who follow the magical circus wherever it goes. He ponders whether he can run can away from home and even join the circus. The magician, Hector Bowen, Prospero the Enchanter, is surprised when he finds he has a daughter, Celia, and must care for her. He sees Celia’s potential in the art of illusion and trains her as a magician. In another location, Mr. A. H., the Man in the Gray Suit, rescues a young boy, Marco, from an orphanage and spends years training him in the magical arts. Celia and Marco are being trained for a challenge, a game in which they do not know the rules and do not know whom they are competing against. Every move they make affects all the people in the circus. Marco knows who Celia is and understands the game they are playing before she does. He starts playing tricks on her, but when she realizes Marco is her opponent in the challenge, she uses her powers to block his magic. They both work hard to increase their individual powers and defeat the other challenger. Marco and Celia, fight for control over the circus, a fight that will lead to death for one of them. However, as the years pass, they fall in love. They both want to give up the game and be together. When they see that is not possible, they each want to die and let the other live. Towards the end of the book, they know they have to break the rules of the game. Marco jumps into the circus bonfire, a bonfire that continually burns in the middle of the circus. Celia jumps in with him, and they become the core of the circus. They are neither dead nor alive, but they are together eternally. The competition is a draw; neither side wins the game. The circus is like an intricate clock that has to work perfectly, just like the large magical circus clock that is at the center of the circus and is essential to the circus’ operation. However, Frederick Thessien, the clock maker, is murdered. Mr. A.H., The Man in the Gray Suit, blames Hector Bowen, Prospero the Enchanter, for the murder. Marco and Celia stop playing the game, and the circus contortionist, Tsukiko, officially ends the challenge. The circus starts to fall apart and the performers hurry to catch the train that will take them elsewhere. Bailey had packed a few possessions and planned on running away from home to join the circus that night, but he took too long to get ready to go. When he finally reached the field where the circus had been, he found only the empty field. The circus had left town without him. Does that circus still exist somewhere or was it all a dream? Magic, danger, romance, jealousy, hate, and love are all here in this remarkable book. The characters are magnificent and memorable. I got so deeply into the twists and turns of the plot that I did not want to put the book down.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is about the series of events that take place within the confines of a circus that travels across the world and runs strictly at nighttime. While the setting is constantly changing as the circus travels, a bulk of the book takes place in London where one of the main characters, Marco, lives as well takes place mainly in the darkness of night in scenes surrounded by fantastical illusions and bizarre magic. The story follows most commonly the perspective of Marco and Celia, two competitor's fighting against one another to win a magic bound competition; however, in the events following their outrageous acts to outdo one another and the psychological torment the competition puts them through, the two end up falling deeply in love with one another. Celia's character can be very closed off from others and closedminded at times because of this; however, her bold curiosity and strength help demonstrate her character's growth throughout the book. Marco, on the other hand, continually struggles to find a place that he truly belongs and is accepted into throughout most of the book; however, the passion and care he holds for others, particularly Celia, portrays the depths of his character and what he values as most important in his life. The main conflict of this book is that the competition Marco and Celia battle through against each other ever since their childhoods can only have one winner, or rather one survivor, and so the two must decide what they are willing to sacrifice for one another as well as if they are willing to jeopardize the fate of the circus, in which so many depend on, in the process. Overall, I would say that the conflict is for the most part wrapped up at the end with little left for the audience to still wonder; however, the ending is not necessarily a happy ending as some characters are left with a lot having been sacrificed by the end of the book. Diving deeper into the central conflict of the book, early on in the novel both Marco and Celia are established as promising, young students of magic and illusion and are set against one another in a competition neither of them really know much about. Both of the two young students come from a rough past as Marco was an orphan and Celia had lost her mom to suicide. Finding purpose in training in magic for the competition seemed to help them cope with everything until the toll of the competition on one another started to destroy them. The conflict, I would argue, is not identified until later on in the book in which the two meet one another and start to fall for each other despite the inevitable odds of the competition. After fighting so long for themselves and pinning themselves away from others, Marco and Celia begin to open up to one another and find peace with their past in the face of a potential future with each other. Upon realization that there can only be one survivor, the two have to decide what they are willing to sacrifice for love and for each other. While this is occurring, simultaneously the circus is beginning to fall apart due to the deaths of two of the main founders and the conflict occurring between Marco and Celia. Ultimately, the fate of the circus is in Celia’s hands as she must decide how to hold it together for the sake of everyone involved in the circus and all that has been sacrificed because of it. These conflicts reveal patterns such as the bonfire of the circus. Once the light of the fire gives out, the circus is stopped and must be rekindled in order to thrive as it once did again. This theme of light in connection to magic demonstrates the darkness that exists in the world and the glimmer of hope the circus offers for so many of the characters throughout this book. A place in which people can turn to for fun and adventure during trying and dark times in their lives. The hope and opportunity of the circus portrays in this symbol of light to demonstrate the connection it serves to others who don’t fit in with the confines of the world around them. Furthermore, based on sociological perspective, this book can be portrayed as a representation of a world away from reality as the circus offers hope to those who otherwise deemed themselves to be hopeless or lost. Building off of this idea on an authorial level, it seems Morgenstern’s story seems to portray the human desire for love and acceptance. Although maybe not in the form magic in our present day world, the symbol of hope and having faith in something is often essential to our lives and the ways we choose to prioritize what we do and who we allow into our lives. As demonstrated throughout Marco and Celia’s conflict between love and competition, humans desire to be loved and to belong. Similar to Marco and Celia, we have to decide as humans what we are willing to sacrifice in order to honor and protect the love we carry for others and our beliefs. Although this book was beautifully written and filled with several deep metaphors and symbols, what was most difficult for me to overlook was the amount of holes in the plot that made it difficult to follow along with the characters and feel connected to them. There are a lot of third person perspectives throughout this story, which made it challenging for me to get a detailed grasp on a character as well as see them progressively grow. I would argue that a majority of the characters developed as the story went on, but not in a significant way that made to feel tied or drawn to the characters. I think the book mainly felt very rushed as there was a lot happening all at once, and it seemed like complex relationships such as Celia and her father as well as Bailey and Poppet were overlooked sometimes through the book due to the wide array of perspectives and characters thrown into the plot. I also would have liked to have had more chapters about Celia and Marco’s relationship as I felt there was still a lot I was left wondering by the end of the book such as what their lives are liked following the ending as well as what the ending really means for them and their future. Erin Morgenstern’s writing, however, is beautiful. The way in which she structured this story and created imagery was fantastic and consistently caught my eye while reading. While I think this book was good, I think there were a few things that also drew me away from it as well. On the other hand, I will most certainly be reading other books written by Morgenstern in the future as her writing style is truly amazing.

A novel is an intimate invitation to enter an author's imagination, a world sacrosanct if not downright sacred. The reader is obliged to accept the novelist's imaginary world on its own terms - not conforming to the reader's worldview or what we refer to as reality. The distinction, of course, is one of comparison or complement: Is the work like other books we like to read, or does it satisfy us on a deeper level because it reflects our own personal needs, values, emotions, perceptions, beliefs? Is the author's imaginary world desirable enough that the reader is eager to invest the time and their own imagination to visit it for the requisite commitment and emotional investment? More important, love it or hate it, will reading the novel change the reader's life or experience of literature in some way? Will the reader remember the book? Take away important thoughts? Draw congruence and similtude with other works? Learn from the characters' experiences? Recommend it to a friend, perhaps even write a review? The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern has achieved all these objectives for me. From a fellow writer's point of view, it is a masterpiece of fiction-writing. From a reader's viewpoint, Ms. Morgenstern not only creates an atmosphere I think of as magical realism, but does so with deft strokes of her imaginary paintbrush that are at once spare yet evocative: My imagination fills in what she (intentionally) leaves out. She seems to intuitively understand that to describe in too much detail would cause the reader to lapse into that pedestrian state of cognitive analysis we call comparison with reality. I don't read a novel to experience reality. I don't watch a movie to experience reality. I've got reality in front of me all the time. I read a novel or watch a movie to escape reality and enter another world where my imagination can play freely and have a great time. I had a great time playing in Ms. Morgenstern's imaginative world of The Night Circus. Ms. Morgenstern signed my copy at the Salem Literary Festival, where she read and answered questions. It was enchanting to hear her read, "The circus arrives without warning," the novel's first sentence, because I could hear and feel her own enchantment with the idea. (A certain reviewer misread and obviously misinterpreted this as "a circus that occurs at night," utterly missing the point that it is the Cirque des Rêves, or Circus of Dreams. Indeed, the novel itself is a circus of dreams, dreams within dreams and the magical, imaginary, worlds created by the characters within the world Ms. Morgenstern has created. In so doing, she evokes some of the most potent archetypes of the imagination. They draw the reader deeper into the characters' lives to learn how they fare, and into the story - the competition, the conflict between the characters, the reason for creating the night circus - in search of its meaning. Yet even though we are stimulated by the plot and character development, simply reading individual lines is a pleasure: "Alone in his flat, Marco constructs tiny rooms from scraps of paper. Hallways and doors crafted from pages of books and bits of blueprints, pieces of wallpaper and fragments of letters. "He composes chambers that lead into others that Celia has created. Stairs that wind around her halls. "Leaving spaces open for her to respond." This novel is like a fine piece of crystal. The printed book itself is a wonderful work of art, not only for its cover image (which the author says is just what she would have wanted, had been asked by her publisher, which of course she wasn't) but also for the evocative, Victorian interior design. Be sure you read the chapter titles for the dates, because Morgenstern moves back and forth in time. So, you see, she controls not just reality, not just physical space, but time as well. And perhaps that's why it doesn't make sense to tell you about the story, or what happens with the characters, or much of anything because it would be using reality to describe this magical place in the imagination.

I usually avoid reviewing big six, and mega popular books, because I really can't add more to what already been said. But I wanted to at least get some thoughts off my chest. This was a group BOTM (book of the month) for the goodreads group that I co-moderate, and so I came into it with average, to mediocre expectations, which turned out to be quite underrated. I have not seen this kind of quality in writing for a long time. The last author I saw of this caliber was Robert Jordan, and if you know me, I am stingy with placing authors in my five-star category. For the record, it is a four-star book, but only because Goodreads does not have half-stars available, so I was forced to round down. Off the record, it is indeed 4.5 stars The world building and character building is as close to perfect as can be expected. It is consistent, even, and done appropriately, just as one would expect in the day to day life lived. -Romance is treated with old school dignity. -Magic is treated with old school dignity. -Business is treated with old school dignity. -Friendships are treated with old school dignity. -My only problem would be the last 30-45 minutes of reading. It was the perfect rate of closure, with facts be revealed in the final hours of the plot, not shockingly, but with a very comfortable, and well absorbing flow. It is a style of writing that is pretty much hard to find nowadays. My complaint is the lack of closure with Marco and Celia. I get that they needed to remain in the game until someone died, and it became obvious that when the info was disclosed on how Prospero tried to leave his body, and the discussion Celia and Marco had about her being able to do it, that it was going to be included near the end. Transparent enough to make it ok, because I wanted to see her improve on her Father's magic, not just knock it off. I didn't like Bailey being late to meet with Poppet and Widget, yes the circus closes early on occasion, but it appeared Bailey got out of the house close enough to be on time. It was worth his being late, to get a better hands on view of the circus groupies following the circus around, as opposed to the distant descriptions of them that were the norm throughout. Losing track of Marco, and having to find him didn't sit well, because she jumped into his arms. How did they get separated? The suspended in time visual did work, but in a clunky sort of way, not as smooth as the rest of the book. My biggest problem is a personal one, at the end when Widget is talking to Alexander over a bottle of wine, and Celia's father is in the window. Personal because it caused me to stop and set the book down to think, something I really dislike, because it usually means that an author has gotten past a well defended wall that shields an inadequacy, or fear. What Alexander said about immortality hit home. I understood Celia and Marco needing to be together, I really do get that, but... Alexander's "Peter Pan Esque synopsis of both life and death being a great adventure (not in literal word, but theory) is well said. Horatio (Prospero, Celia's father) is pitied, because his reaching out for immortality, became an inescapable prison that I would fear much more than death itself. To wander the abyss of eternity, alone, is a hell that I equate with the Judeo-Christian worldview of separation from God, in the outer darkness. An eternal stalemate is by no means a victory in the game, that lack of closure I believe is why the game had to be judged the way it was. We may not like the idea of two people being forced into the game, with no choice, but death is a natural part of life, and a beginning cannot exist without an end. Putting my mortality in check was harsh, but needed, and welcomed only AFTER the check was made. It pained, but it lead to growth. I would recommend this to anyone, no filters attached, I think anyone could "get" this. Again, the book was great from first page to last page, but quite unsatisfying a meal when it came to the dessert. It was savory, not decadent.

This is one, If not my favorite book of all time. This book surprised me by touching my soul in a way I wasn't anticipating. It does not mean this will be the same for every reader, but it did for me. With that being said, this book builds its world with beautiful prose and magical realism. This comes at a cost of a slower pace. A lot of emotions and relationships are built in subtext and the passage of time, things that can be easily missed by the reader and make them feel as if things just happen. It isn't a loud or in your face sort of book. It's a book made with the slow, subtle burn of life and the small things that can get lost between the cracks if one doesn't stop and contemplate. **Potential Spoiler Area That Goes Into Depth** This book states that there's a fierce competition between two magical illusionist, which is...sort of true? It's more like a slow-building competition of endurance, ingenuity, and skill. The rules and the endgame of the competition are not straightforward to the main characters nor to the reader. Magic is real in this world. Some is innate, some is learned, some are showy, and some are invisible. In this sense, it's a bit like the soft magic system of Harry Potter wherein how they do magic is never really explained, but here it is explained that anyone can do magic if they are taught, unlike Harry Potter. With that said, the magic performed is well done! What the character is doing and how their magic interacts with the world around it is very easy to imagine compared to many other books that I have read. The story is told in multiple POVs with chapters typically taking place in different locations and different times. We follow three different groups of people, the main two characters, three children, and you, the reader, all taking place at different times to an extent. This book is slower paced than books like Caraval. It focuses more on setting the scene and the world building that the circus exists in. I could smell and taste the foods (it made me so hungry), I could hear the people in the background moving about and talking, I could see the rooms and tents and practically walk with the characters. While people may state that the pacing is too slow, I feel as though it was to make room for building the world with beautiful prose and allowing yourself to get lost in it. After all, the circus itself is its own character and the characters who inhabit that circus come from very distinct places.

En sevdiğim kitaplar arasında artık

Nice book

Erin Morgenstern liefert mit ihrem Debütroman The Night Circus (Der Nachtzirkus) ein ungewöhnliches und nachhallendes Lesevergnügen ab. Zunächst erscheint einem die Entscheidung, im Präsens zu erzählen, sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig, doch nach einer Weile stellt sich dadurch verstärkt der Eindruck ein, das Ganze direkt mitzuerleben. Durch die episodenhafte Aufteilung der Kapitel und einer nicht chronologischen Erzählstruktur, die in der Zeit vor und zurück springt, erfährt man zunächst auch nur die grobe Rahmenhandlung und ist darüber hinaus als Leser ebenso ahnungslos wie die beiden Spielfiguren Celia und Marco. Die Autorin schildert die Welt dabei sehr plastisch und schafft es trotz einer wenig ausgefallenen Sprache, Leben in jedes Zelt und jeden Charakter zu hauchen. Als Freund bildhafter Beschreibungen ist man mit The Night Circus daher gut beraten. Doch auch die Ideen selbst verstehen zu faszinieren, es ist beinahe enttäuschend, dass man als Leser nicht die Chance hat, den Zirkus leibhaftig zu besuchen. Anfangs bleibt lange unklar, was die eigentliche Handlung dieses Romans ist und was der Zirkus damit zu tun hat. Man entdeckt gerne jedes einzelne Zelt und kann sich als Leser an den wunderbaren Ideen und Beschreibung ergötzen, doch was der Zweck des Ganzen ist, wird nur vage angedeutet. Erst nach und nach setzen sich ab Buchmitte alle Episoden zu einem großen Puzzle zusammen. Die Handlung erstreckt sich über ca. 30 Jahre und wird durch die Sprünge in der Erzählung bereits komplex, doch auch die Beweggründe und das Verhalten der Protagonisten werden erst dann nachvollziehbar, wenn man sich immer mal wieder einen Moment Zeit nimmt, um sich in die Figuren hineinzuversetzen und über ihr Handeln und ihre Reaktionen nachzudenken. Das Buch macht einen traurig und glücklich zur selben Zeit, wenn man versteht, was das alles für die betroffenen Charaktere und ihr Leben bedeutet. Dieses Gefühl spiegelt auch perfekt wider, wie der Nachtzirkus – The Circus of Dreams – auf seine Besucher wirkt, und erklärt, weshalb ihm eine Schar von Menschen rund um den Globus folgt. Er berührt Sehnsüchte nach Geheimnissen, Magie und Mystik in der Welt. Es erwarten einen hier keine großen Spannungsmomente, keine epischen Schlachten, nicht einmal aufgebauschte Dramatik oder ein fulminantes Finale. The Night Circus schafft es auf ganz alltägliche, sanfte Weise ergreifend und faszinierend zu sein, angereichert mit einem Hauch von Magie, die sich nicht in bombastischen Effekten zeigt, sondern im Erschaffen von Attraktionen. Für den Romantiker wird auch bald ersichtlich, dass … nein, das wollen wir an dieser Stelle nicht verraten. Nur so viel: das Verhältnis zwischen Celia und Marco entwickelt sich auf erwachsene und beiläufige Weise, vermag es aber trotz hintergründigem Ablauf, die Pläne der beiden Wettväter gründlich zu stören und den Wettstreit zu einem noch grausameren Akt zu machen, als er es ohnehin schon ist. Neben stark gezeichneten Charakteren, die mit jedem Kapitel mehr Persönlichkeit bekommen und einen dazu bewegen, Interesse an ihrem Leben zu entwickeln, ist vor allem die Idee interessant, wahre Magie hinter technischen Konstrukten zu verstecken um sie glaubhaft zu machen. Der Roman spielt in unserer realen Welt um 1870 bis ca. 1900, später wird auch ein noch deutlich neueres Datum angedeutet – das einen von Schmunzeln begleiteten Aha-Effekt auslöst – und so bleiben die Magier selbstbestimmt unerkannt und verbergen ihre Talente hinter dem Scheinbild des Zirkus. Bei allem hat man stets eine gewaltige Welt aus feinen, detaillierten Scherenschnitten vor Augen, sobald man den Zirkus betritt, was sicherlich der reduzierten Farbgebung und künstlerischen Beschreibung zu verdanken ist. The Night Circus ist keine schnell zu verschlingende Lektüre. Daher die Warnung: wer leichte Kost für zwischendurch sucht, wird mit diesem Roman sicher nicht glücklich werden. Allen, die Bücher vor allem emotional erleben und erfühlen wollen, ist dieser faszinierende, ruhige Roman dagegen dringend zu empfehlen. Ansonsten verhält es sich mit The Night Circus wie mit der Farbgebung der Zelte in schwarz oder weiß: Entweder man liebt es oder man hasst es, dazwischen dürfte es kaum Graustufen geben.

A estória é incrivel, muito outonal (cheio de descrição de aromas e ambientes aconchegantes!) e embora seja um livro de fantasia não da a sensação de ser direcionado a um público infantil ou algo do gênero. Em relação ao livro em si a qualidade é a esperada de uma edição econômica de bolso que se encontra fora do país... as folhas de papel jornal e a capa de papelão fino, e mesmo que as páginas sejam pequnas a fonte das letras é de um tamanho bem razoável!

I love that there's no one main character, the circus on itself is a character, while you follow people involved with/in it, you get to know many characters and their perspective. It's written in a way that you can imagine everything and feel you're part of the world. The love story between the "main" characters is worthy of Aphrodite, 100%, is that love that's so strong it hurts, that's hard to keep because there are so many obstacles in the way but it's not just a love story, you still have this magic that all fantasy novels have and it's wonderful. You might get thrown off by the way you jump in the time line but it all makes sense at the end. I really enjoyed it, I picked it up after Ashley Johnson mentioned it in 4-Sided Dive and after knowing it was part of the inspiration for Candela Obscura... Let me tell you, I will never doubt Ashley's taste in books.