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The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

Start date: October 2, 2015

Finish date: October 31, 2015

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What Members Thought

Jul 17, 2019 Carrie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, magicians, mgr, fantasy, favorite-authors, multiple-points-of-view, magical-realism

Enchanting
Magical
Wonderful

Welcome to the Night Circus where nothing is what it seems and it all that you that can ever imagine wanting.

A test
A challenge
A love story.

Two people pitied against the other in a game, a challenge endure.
Lives forever changed.
Within and outside of black and white tents of the Le Cirque de Rêves

12 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2015 Kirsten rated it really liked it

Simply put, a delightful and enchanting book! The characters, the situations, the plotting just make this a wonderful read. It kept me engaged. At times it was light as a feather, at other times things closed in around you with menace. But it came all together like a perfectly crafted souffle.

What a delight!

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2011 Logan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-bought-paper, borrowed-library

First impressions: Opening a debut novel in 2nd person narrative is ballsy. But, oh man, did it work in this case. By introducing the reader to the wonder that is this night circus through gorgeous prose and the immediacy of the perspective, we are hooked from the first sentence. The circus arrives without warning.

Lasting impressions: I relished this book in a way that rarely happens for me - slowly. For the week I spent reading it, I rarely thought of anything else, yet I prolonged the reading First impressions: Opening a debut novel in 2nd person narrative is ballsy. But, oh man, did it work in this case. By introducing the reader to the wonder that is this night circus through gorgeous prose and the immediacy of the perspective, we are hooked from the first sentence. The circus arrives without warning.

Lasting impressions: I relished this book in a way that rarely happens for me - slowly. For the week I spent reading it, I rarely thought of anything else, yet I prolonged the reading experience in order to get the most out of it. This is a book that inspires reflection in all of the best ways, and rewards you for taking the time to read every word carefully. The story builds slowly, but purposefully, until the exciting climax threatens to turn the entire world of these characters upside down. It's a beautiful journey to witness.

Conflicting impressions: I confess that I read all of the negative reviews of this book first. Surely no book could live up to the kind of magical hype this book has had heaped upon it, right? So I read the most blistering, scathing reviews, preparing myself for a slow, boring, overly dense novel with wooden characters and little action. And you know what I got? Subtle characters deftly written by a master puppeteer. Erin Morgenstern fills the pages with lush details, yes, but they all serve to inform us about the characters and the setting. I understood this world so well that I wanted to live in it for as long as possible, which is why I took so damn long to finish it. And why I bought a copy for my shelf the day before I returned my library book. I didn't want a single day to go by without having this book in my possession.

Overall impressions: This book is magical, but not because it contains magic. This is not Harry Potter. Our young protagonists learn magic through natural ability and frustrating lessons by their parental figures - no straightforward schoolteachers to be found. They learn through trial and error, cruelty, and their own perseverance and curiosity.

Celia and Marco do not spend a lot of time in each other's company, and as readers we are often much more knowledgeable than our characters. For me, this made the plot that much more enjoyable, as I had an inkling of where the story was going, but no idea how it was going to get there. As the story unfolded, I was more than willing to go along for the ride. This is a novel you either succumb to completely, or resign yourself to frustration. I think by the end of the first few chapters any reader will be able to tell if this is the book for him/her.

The Night Circus has rich period details, lots of colorful characters, and more than a handful of intrigue. This was not only one of my favorite books of the year, but one of my favorite books, period. If you're looking to be entertained by something truly fresh and surprising, you must get your hands on this one. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Dana Arbelaez rated it really liked it

Yes, the imagery in this story was definitely magic of its own, and yes, I did have some fantastic dreams from going directly to sleep while reading--but honestly, it took me too long to finish it, and there were moments when I was wishing for more substance. I like the way it ended though, lately I've been bored by the novels that use magic and end in complete tragedy; I guess my soul just needs more resolution, and this book definitely ended with a good one. Kinda reminded me of the movie ~The ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2011 Maudaevee rated it liked it

Shelves: on-the-shelf-owned-rl-copy

I really was unsure if I wanted to give a 3 or 4 star rating on this book. I really liked it and there was much to like about it, the tone was great and the setting of the circus was as magical as it should be, but there were a few flaws that kept me from giving the 4 star rating. Some of the timing and dialog was a bit off and enough that it was distracting me but not enough to truly disrupt the mood of the book or my desire to keep reading. I wanted to know a little bit more about many of the ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2017 Jen Ifer's Inklings rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books, library, popsugar-2017-reading-challenge, read-in-2017

3.5 stars. The book was beautifully written. I can see why so many people loved it and gave it 5 star reviews. I wanted so much to love it myself.
Unfortunately, I didn't love it. This is such a character driven story, but I didn't find myself really driven to care about the characters on such a deep level. Overall, they were kind of forgettable to me. The setting seemed magical, but I wasn't really drawn into it. I think that the shifting perspectives and shifting timelines were what really thr ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Soelo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lovedfantasy, srchallenge, yearly, novelrpg, locusaward, mythopoeicaward

I loved this book, but it is hard to pinpoint why. The real world and the fantastic overlap in a believable way. The descriptions of the atmosphere of the circus were rich and detailed without getting tedious. The plot is not strictly linear, but it does follow a certain logic. Except for the antagonists, all of the characters are likeable or at least admirable without being Pollyannas.

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2013 Shanyn rated it really liked it

This one took a while to really grab me. The first half of the book is pretty disjointed, but you just have to be willing to strap in and go along for the ride because the second half of the book makes it all worth it. It's an extraordinary celebration of the magic inherent in all things, whether it's recognized or not. Lovely, lovely, lovely... ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2011 Judy rated it really liked it

A fantasy that captures the reader immediately and doesn't let go for 400 pages. This book is on every "best books of 2011" list that I've seen and rightly so. I am generally not a fan of literary fantasy, but I loved this book and have recommended it to all of my friends. ...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Darcy rated it really liked it

The characters in The Night Circus were really brought to life by Morgenstern. I was captivated by the very original story.

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Dec 23, 2011 Rhonda rated it it was amazing

Different. Beautiful. Well written. I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next. Very imaginative.

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The date/location titles with each chapter were distracting for me at first, but finally I stopped paying attention to them and just read the story. So good!

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