From the Bookshelf of All About Fantasy!…

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

Start date: September 2, 2014

Finish date: September 30, 2014

Discussion: Past : BOTM books

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 247 topics — 1,488 comments total

Past : BOTM books

Dragonflight
By Nikki · 11 posts · 18 views

last updated Jun 21, 2018 09:26AM

Poison Study
By Nikki · 6 posts · 14 views

last updated Jun 19, 2018 07:26PM

showing 3 of 3 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 15, 2013 Beth The Vampire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: stand-alone-novels, books-that-make-me-love-reading, victorian, magic, circus-carnival

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

Once upon a time, there were two children chosen for a game that they do not completely understand. One is the daughter of a great magician, brought into his care after her mother’s suicide and capable of some quite amazing things, and the other is an orphan, purchased by the man in the grey suit because he fits some undisclosed purpose. They practice their craft as they grow, waiting f The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

Once upon a time, there were two children chosen for a game that they do not completely understand. One is the daughter of a great magician, brought into his care after her mother’s suicide and capable of some quite amazing things, and the other is an orphan, purchased by the man in the grey suit because he fits some undisclosed purpose. They practice their craft as they grow, waiting for the day when the challenge will begin, and they will come face to face with their opponent. In the midst of this is the circus, Le Cirque des Rêves, the ground where the game will play out, and others who will be caught up in the tide, forever changed although they do not know why or how.

Despite all of this chaos, there is love. Love between the two people who are supposed to be playing the game, writing each other love letters in the form of new circus tents with new wonders inside. The Night Circus is a truly magical place, where dreams are made whole, and magic seems all too real. Some of the tents are truly beautiful feats of the imagination. There are questions of how this is possible, and realisations that real magic may not be too far away.

“Magic,” the man in the grey suit repeats, turning the word into a laugh. “This is not magic. This is the way the world is, only a very few people take the time to stop and note it. Look around you,” he says, waving a hand at the surrounding tables. “Not a one of them even has an inkling of the things that are possible in the world, and what’s worse is that non rog them would listen if you attempted to enlighten them. They want to believe that magic is nothing but clever deception, because to think it real would keep them up at night, afraid of their own existence.”

Everything about this book is beautiful. The writing, the characters, the setting, and the story. I cannot describe in words how much I love this book. This has been my first reread since 2015, and I still love it. In fact, it actually made more sense, and the writing did not seem as cluttered the second time around. The idea of the circus is divine, because while it is the battleground for a game that could last decades, it instead is a tale of love between two people who have similar gifts and want to share them with each other. Before they even make themselves known to each other they are twisting the bonds of reality, forgetting the game of life and death, and instead thriving within one another.

I wished that this circus was real, that there was still some sign of magic in the everyday world. This book makes me want that more than anything. It is sublime.

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.
You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jun 29, 2013 Mary Catelli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fantasy, voice-and-style, worlds-of-wonder, favorites, unusual-pov

A work of marvels and wonders. Two magicians set (another) challenge at each other, that their students are to strive to outdo each other. The venue of this is the title circus, done up in black and white and open only at night.

This work unfolds its story, the events described in a dream-like sequence, not strictly temporal. As befits the wonders of it. (It remind me a bit of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell with its descriptions of the tents and what they contained.)

And in this venue, Celia and Ma ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2022 Sarah E B rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror-gothic, historical-fiction, some-kinda-magic, curses-magic-spells-etc, stand-alone, fantasy-awesomeness, historical-fantasy, doppelgänger-clones-twins-etc, magical-realism, folktales-fairy-tale

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a very unusual tale of a circus and the bizarre and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a very unusual tale of a circus and the bizarre and wonderfully strange people that work there. The book centers around a bet made by two shady men, and the pawns in the game are an orphan boy and one of the shady fellow's daughter. The contest and time of the book last many, many years. It follows the two contestants and how they do in life under their trainers of ...more

Like · see review

Jan 10, 2014 R.L. Stedman rated it really liked it

loved this book! its incredibly clever - the structure gradually unwinds, through time and geography then winds back up again, just like a clock (and I'm sure this is done on purpose, just to mirror the setting of the story). The Night Circus is a story a circus with a difference - it's only open at night. There's a duel of magic, romance, thwarted magicians and wonderful evocative descriptions: smells, tastes, colours. I want to read it again! ...more

Like · see review

Jul 24, 2013 Holly rated it really liked it

This book was a really nice change to other books Ive been reading recently.

It's descriptive writing and world building qualities are some of the best.

Primarily a fantasy story mixed with mystery and romance.

descriptive writing is so well done it transports you right into the book.

4.5* ...more

Like · see review

Feb 24, 2015 Julie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Second read through just as gripped as the first.

My new favourite quote:

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with sleep" Prospero, The Tempest Act IV, scene I ...more

Like · see review