The Night Circus is not just a novel: It’s an experience. It’s like the book equivalent to watching Avatar or the ice scene in Dr. Zhivago. The magic of the circus setting and the Victorian style narrative creates an experience of decadence and lusciousness. I loved sitting down to read this book. Every time I came back to it, I was drawn into the world of magic, fantasy, and forbidden love.

Celia and Marco are the magicians, bound together in rivalry, who fall in love. They start in the novel as children living out their fathers’ twisted game and are then trained for their ultimate impending competition. The source of their individual powers is handled in two different ways. With Celia, it’s an innate power; however, for Marco it’s a gift of manipulation of perception. But, in spite of differences, the result is magic nonetheless. Whether it’s a leather jacket being transformed into doves, a perpetually burning fire, kittens performing acrobatics, a fire breathing paper dragon, or a truly spiffy ice garden, the magic is truly intoxicating.

I would classify this book as a strong character novel. However, Celia and Marco, in this case were side characters. They were not as developed as I would have liked. Even though, the reader first encounters the characters as children, their depth is never truly realized. This is partially a product of third person parallel narratives, which inevitably draws focus from the two main characters and spreads it across other scenes and people. Another reason for this disconnection between the main characters is the timeline in the book. I personally felt a bit deprived of the development of the love affair because the book jumped across three years after their first stolen kiss and bounces back and forth frequently. The effect is heightened suspense but an ultimate detachment from the characters and their developing love affair.

But these are really small criticisms considering what the trade-off was. The reason I maintain that this is a strong character book is because I think of the circus itself as being the main character. The reader sees it from its inception to its… well, to avoid spoilers, I’ll call it a transformation. The circus is the reason to turn over 300 pages. Celia and Marco’s relationship is romantic and intriguing, but it’s not what pulls readers into the narrative. I fell in love with the most remarkable and dynamic character in the book, the one with the dark, mysterious magic that engrossed me from the beginning. The Night Circus is not the setting of the book. It’s the entire novel, and it’s worth every page.