From the Bookshelf of Crazy Challenge Connection…

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

Start date: April 1, 2012

Finish date: April 30, 2012

Why we're reading this: Book of the Month - April 2012
Discussion to follow in May 2012
[close] Book of the Month - April 2012
Discussion to follow in May 2012

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Apr 03, 2012 Linda C rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, read-2012

This book is very difficult to describe, much less rate.

For at least half of the book, I felt like I was simply waiting for something to happen; while the writing was exquisite, there were sections where even magic became tedious. Everything always looked wonderful; everything always smelled wonderful; the whipped cream on the hot chocolate was always pillowy, the circus was always special, etc. Then, when the book was over, it all made sense and the power of Erin Morgenstern's writing was appar ...more

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May 23, 2012 mussolet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: rating-5stars-fiction-nf, g-magical-realism, fav-read-2012, with-circus, fav-alltime, language-english, 2021-sorted, 2024-shelf-challenge

Warbreaker aside, "The Night Circus" has to be one of the most visually exciting books I've ever read.

The moment you enter the book, you have entered the world of the circus. And by circus I don't mean the normal one that comes to town every summer or christmas, I mean the circus that Erin Morgenstern has created, in all its perfectly designed beauty, its dreamlike glory, its magic and its - for want of a better word - scary-ness.

The characters acting in this circus that has been constructed a Warbreaker aside, "The Night Circus" has to be one of the most visually exciting books I've ever read.

The moment you enter the book, you have entered the world of the circus. And by circus I don't mean the normal one that comes to town every summer or christmas, I mean the circus that Erin Morgenstern has created, in all its perfectly designed beauty, its dreamlike glory, its magic and its - for want of a better word - scary-ness.

The characters acting in this circus that has been constructed as a battle ground for two duelling magicians, are thoroughly entertaining. I didn't like Celia and the circus members right from the start, and I took some time warming to Marco, but the characters were believable and flawed, and always great at interacting with their unreal surroundings.

It took me a while to adjust my expectation for the battle to commence immediately. In fact, I was quite surprised by the time-span covered in this novel. The author clearly wanted to maximise the impact of this duel, and the strain that all those years put on the protagonists was clearly visible.
Halfway through the book though, the pace suddenly picks up, and the story manages to hold the suspense right until the end. I quite enjoyed the ending, as it was nothing I could have guessed from the start.

Above and beyond all the characters and story archs stand Erin Morgenstern's writing and the descriptions of her world. I felt like entering a new tent and experiencing a story within every time I started a new chapter. The structuring was quite brilliant as well; every time I thought "well, it would really be time to visit [this character or place] again", it happened in the next chapter, so that nothing fell short.

To conclude my gushing, this is one of my favourite reads for this year, and to prove just how brilliant it is, I shall leave you with one of my favourite descriptions in the entire book:

"On this evening, Mme. Padva wears a dress of black silk, hand embroidered with intricate patterns of cherry blossoms, something like a kimono reincarnated as a gown. Her silver hair is piled atop her head and held in place with a small jeweled black cage. A choker of perfectly cut scarlet rubies circles her neck, putting forth a vague impression of her throat having been slit. The overall effect is slightly morbid and incredibly elegant."

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Nov 03, 2012 Kaitlin rated it really liked it

What a cool story. The fantastical elements in it are wonderful and unexpected. This is one of those books where you really can picture what's going on. It was such a unique setting too, unlike anything I'd ever read before.

The last 100 pages weren't nearly as good as the rest. The big weakness was the "love" story. It's supposed to be passionate and moving, but I found it sudden, contrived, and unnecessary. Also, the jumps in time weren't signaled by much other than the chapter titles, which is ...more

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