The Night Circus in The Dusty Bookshelf

Aug 12, 2013 Kristina rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

Cross-posted from my blog: quietandbusy.blogspot.com

I first read The Night Circus in 2013 and I instantly fell in love with it. The writing was stunning, the story was well-crafted and complex, and world-building was completely immersive. I had never read anything quite like it, and it instantly became a favorite of mine. When I was designing my Then vs. Now Reading Challenge, I knew that I wanted this novel to be a part of it. I started my reread this month, excited to lose myself in Morgenster Cross-posted from my blog: quietandbusy.blogspot.com

I first read The Night Circus in 2013 and I instantly fell in love with it. The writing was stunning, the story was well-crafted and complex, and world-building was completely immersive. I had never read anything quite like it, and it instantly became a favorite of mine. When I was designing my Then vs. Now Reading Challenge, I knew that I wanted this novel to be a part of it. I started my reread this month, excited to lose myself in Morgenstern's magical world once again.

The plot follows the story of two magicians unknowingly locked in a battle of skills by their magical teachers. Their battleground is a mysterious circus that appears only at night and is filled with spectacles that defy belief- a garden made entirely of ice, a maze with more twists and turns than could possibly fit in one tent, a landscape full of frolicking paper animals and more. As the magicians display their talents to the delight and amazement of the circus patrons, they are irresistibly drawn to one another and fall desperately in love. When the true nature of their competition is revealed, both struggle to find a way to be together in spite of the rules binding them. To reveal more details would spoil the mysterious vibe of the story; it's best to head into this book not knowing too much ahead of time.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about The Night Circus is its lush, descriptive passages. The imagery in this book is incredible. Morgenstern has created a world rich in magical details. It's very unusual for me to enjoy descriptive sections in books because I am generally much more interested in the plot of a story than the atmosphere. However, in this case I was completely hooked on drinking in the beauty of each scene. There were many passages I enjoyed, but the image that sticks in my mind the most is the illusion Marco creates of a ship made of books floating on a sea of ink. I have never wanted to step inside the pages of a book to see something for myself so much before. The story is set at the turn of the 20th century, and the old fashioned clothing and architecture adds to the picturesque ambiance. In fact, the whole setting of the story, and especially the circus itself, is another character in the book, growing and changing in unpredictable and brilliant ways. All this description does slow the story down, but in a way that feels like you are savouring a good story. I couldn't get enough of it.

The romance between Marco and Celia is similarly well done. Although the conceit of the story has them separated for most of the time, Morgenstern makes the times they are together passionate enough to make up for the long absences. Their feelings for each other felt real and I was pulling for them to find a way to be together. I also enjoyed the secondary character Bailey's story, especially the idea that he didn't have to be particularly special to be useful, he just had to care enough. At one point Celia tells him, "You're not destined or chosen, I wish I could tell you that you were if that would make it easier, but it's not true. You're in the right place at the right time, and you care enough to do what needs to be done. Sometimes that's enough." It's one of the harder truths in life that we generally aren't quite as special as we think we are, but I do believe that effort and care can make us special, just like Bailey.

I loved The Night Circus when I read it the first time, and I think I loved it even more on this reread. The creativity Morgenstern shows in its pages is unparalleled and I enjoyed slipping into the magical, intricate world she created. Any lover of whimsy and fantasy would feel right at home in The Night Circus. It's a slow burn that is totally worth the time. I'm excited to read Morgenstern's second novel, The Starless Sea next, and see if I enjoy it as much as this one.
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May 23, 2012 Nichole ~~The Grey Lady~~ rated it did not like it

I got about a hundred pages into this book when I realized that I really had no idea what was going on...and I just didnt care enough about it to try reading on to figure it out. Mostly I didnt like the way that it was written. I am not sure what the technical term for the type of narration would be. But to me it feels kind of flat and passive. It doesnt pull you into the story. The timeline was jumping around a lot which i think added some to the confusion. In any case, I am moving on. It's bee ...more

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Jan 13, 2014 Suz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-jan-june

Excellent! I listened to this on tape and I think it enhanced the story for me. The author's descriptions are amazing and really made it easy to "see" the people and the setting. Listening to the narrator's voice, I felt like I was in the story, experiencing the circus tents, the magic, and all of the emotions! This story has a lot of action, charming characters, and is so creative! I would definitely recommend this as a book-on-tape or book! ...more

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Dec 31, 2014 Sara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: magical

Magical. The best way to describe it. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a wonderful book in my opinion, which is why I gave it 5 stars. I love the visuals of the book. The dark, starry chapters and the descriptions of different tents as though I was there. There's not much that I didn't enjoy and it had both my heart and my mind racing. It was filled with mystery, magic, and romance.

What I didn't like about this book: Although I enjoyed the different points in time perspective I did not l ...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Mikaela rated it it was amazing

Utterly captivating.

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Sep 19, 2024 Dana (dana_reads_books13) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2024-urs

Loved loved loved. I am unsure why this took me so long to read.

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Feb 13, 2012 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-favorites, book-club, classics, 2012, must-read, cute-book

I wish the night circus would come to Connecticut!!

I absolutely loved this novel. I went into the novel wondering what this book was all about. Yes it's about a night circus, but there is more to this night circus then one could guess. It was magically experience, that i would re-read again. ...more

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