"The Night Circus" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[Sarah]

This thread is for the spoiler free discussion of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

[Rachel]

It's been many years since I read it but still remember it as beautiful and engrossing

[Kim]

I remember when it came out, it was everywhere. Everyone I knew was reading it, or telling others to read it. And then... it was gone. Just like the Night Circus.

[Allison]

Kim wrote: "I remember when it came out, it was everywhere. Everyone I knew was reading it, or telling others to read it. And then... it was gone. Just like the Night Circus."

:O OMG. It must be real!

[Christopher]

I finished it this morning, no spoilers, but just wanted to say I loved it and it wasn't on my radar prior to this so I'm really glad it was selected as a group read. The writing really transports the reader into a world of magic.

[Travis]

I started this morning and raced through the first 50 pages. Tons of fun. I really like alternating between the two main characters.

[David]

The first five comments are all people who give it five stars? If you all set my expectations too high, I can only be disappointed :)

[Jude]

I'm "reading" it via Audible and half way through I can't tell if I love it more because the story is so great or because Jim Dale's narration is so perfectly suited. Either way, like others above, I had never heard of this book and very glad to have found it via this group!

[Farhana]

I am looking forward to reading this. This is probably the first book in a long time that has attracted me basically for the covers, on all editions! So beautiful!

I hope the story also keeps me intrigued! :D

[Meagan]

The writing was absolutely beautiful. The way the perspectives were done was gripping. I couldn't put it down! My favorite part was the atmosphere Morgenstern was able to create. She was able to create an atmosphere filled with wonder but it also felt ominous.

[Allison]

See, there you go, David. Meagan only gave it 4 stars. I hope that helps level out your expectations. ;-)

Yeah, Meagan, experiencing this book was a new sensation. That atmosphere...

[Cheryl]

I'm going to be rereading it, hoping to enjoy it more (than I believe that I recall) this time. I don't remember it well, and I can't find my review of it, so this will be pretty much a fresh attempt.

[Ilona]

I think it is a lovely book without substance. I gave it four stars because I enjoyed it but I completely get why other people dislike it. There's no conflict.

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

Clearly I will be in the minority but it was a bit too beautiful for me. Not enought substance and the characters seemed so flat. I read this pre-goodreads so I need to go look up my specific issues.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

A very classy novel, terrific writing most of all! Very imaginative, too.

[Melissa]

This has been on my to-read list for forever. I'm loving it so far!

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

I'm hoping to get a chance to do a re-read this month.

This is a book I've always been a bit afraid to re-read, worried the magic won't hold for a second go-round... but I do have a book at home with a sparkly, new cover, so I need to break it in at some point.

[Allison]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I'm hoping to get a chance to do a re-read this month.

This is a book I've always been a bit afraid to re-read, worried the magic won't hold for a second go-round... but I do have a book at home w..."

I should buy it in dead tree format. Everything about it is so pretty. *Adds to wishlist* But yeah. I wonder if the dream-like quality can survive review.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

I saw the cover that combines the two other covers, and I just had to have it:

[Sarah]

Colleen, I'm with you. I'm afraid to reread it because I'm afraid the magic will be gone.

[Allison]

Ha! That's the one in my cart. I saw it, fell in love, wandered into a daydream about the tree from the circus and then put on another book so I could focus!

[Anna]

I listened to the Jim Dale audiobook last year and was disappointed. I had heard so many good reviews and was expecting to love it. I think I need to re-read on Kindle because this is probably one of those cases where the narrator ruined the book for me. It's not that he's bad, I just don't enjoy his narration like everyone else seems to. Maybe it's because I'm in the Stephen Fry camp re: Harry Potter, and just hearing Dale's voice reminds me of how wrong it is that those things (Harry Potter read by someone else) even exist in the world.

[Sarah]

This is one that I would not want to do on audio. It had a very dreamy feel that wouldn't be as effective that way.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

I'm not a huge fan of audio books in general... but I agree that this seems to me to be one best experienced via print.

[Anna]

That's good to hear. It's true that everything doesn't work on audio. I had problems with my eyes last year and my doctor forbid me to read even a single page for several months, so I had to do audio only. Once I get rid of my TBR pile of doom I'll give this a re-read.

[Yefim]

Very pretty so far. Kind of reminds me of All the Birds in the Sky, without any of the issues that marred it. At this point, I'm cautiously optimistic

[Travis]

Random associations while reading: All the talk about clocks has me thinking about the podcast S-Town, and that makes me start comparing the labyrinth in the podcast to the circus in the novel.

[Allison]

Travis wrote: "Random associations while reading: All the talk about clocks has me thinking about the podcast S-Town, and that makes me start comparing the labyrinth in the podcast to the circus in the novel."

I saw someone else compare it to Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, too.

[Bruce]

I'm listening to the audio version and the narrator is perfect for this type of writing. I'm not sure how it reads in print, but the narration is dreamy and magical, flowing beautifully with the ethereal descriptions and the fanciful story. To me, lyrical writing is best read out loud. That's how it's meant to be experienced to fully appreciate the full impact of the writing.

[Bruce]

Ilona wrote: "I think it is a lovely book without substance. I gave it four stars because I enjoyed it but I completely get why other people dislike it. There's no conflict."

I get that. To me, this is a more of a literary kind of work, and people who read literary novels read them more for the lyrical quality of the writing than for conflict and plot. The conflict is more subtle rather than stated.

[Jack]

Started this morning. I was a bit worried with how it started referring to "you" in the narriative. That immediately sucks me out of the story. Hoping that won't pop up any more. But I like the 2 kids and their different experiences. Definitely will keep me reading to find out how things develop.

[David]

I’m 100 pages in and really like the idea of a guerrilla circus, but I’m finding the rapid POV shifts and ambiguously named characters a little demanding. Maybe it’s an Invested Mental Effort thing, and it is forcing to pay attention.

[Valerie]

I read this back in 2011 and was immediately entranced. I thought it had a very poetic style. I have to admit, I agree with Hank that this was more style over substance, but this was a rare instance where it actually worked for me. Usually, I find this type of book extremely annoying, so this one was the exception to the rule.

[Melissa]

Jack wrote: "Started this morning. I was a bit worried with how it started referring to "you" in the narriative. That immediately sucks me out of the story. Hoping that won't pop up any more. But I like the 2 k..."

I was worried when I saw the"you" too, but surprisingly I actually liked it. I felt a bit more immersed in the feel of the circus than I think I would have been otherwise.

[Yefim]

I have....issues with the plot and characterization. In many ways, it feels like a polished NaNoWriMo novel, which it is.

And can we talk about Tsukiko for a second? Since when are "mysterious, exotic Oriental who don't do anything except be exotic and mysterious" characters a good idea? The book is from 2011, not 1911...

[Allison]

Yefim wrote: "I have....issues with the plot and characterization. In many ways, it feels like a polished NaNoWriMo novel, which it is.

And can we talk about Tsukiko for a second? Since when are "mysterious, e..."

Agreed her characterization isn't the best. But keep reading, there's some interesting things ahead.

And yeah, the plot in this is teeny tiny. Valid complaint. This book lives and dies in how much the reader gets sucked up into the atmosphere of it.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Allison wrote: "And yeah, the plot in this is teeny tiny. Valid complaint. This book lives and dies in how much the reader gets sucked up into the atmosphere of it. "

This seems to be true for a lot of the magical realism books I've read. They're much more about the characters and the world/atmosphere than that are about "what happens".

This might be one reason why I tend to like them, because I'm very much a character-oriented reader.

The converse of that being that if I don't like the characters, or related to them, or are interested in them in some way... then there's really no other saving grace to be had.

[Melissa]

I'm going to be really disappointed if the end doesn't tie all the characters together in some kind of spectacular way.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

The game is finding the mythological symbols and myths. This book practically has a mythological person, story, symbol or reference in every other sentence, from China to India to Mesopotamia to the ancient Greeks to the ancient Egyptians to Africa to the creators of the Norse legends...Myths created thousands of years ago, gods who were painted on pots and bathroom walls, and who were discovered in the artwork remains of buried cities under sand and described in pre-alphabet languages on scrolls and tablets, on jewelry, temples and bathroom walls - and written on a person's body in tattoos.

[Kim]

Just a reminder that this is a spoiler free thread.

[Dani]

I am almost a third in and I gotta say Jim Dale's narration is absolutely perfect for this book.

Not sure how much I like the story so far though - I have alternating feelings between enjoyment and impatience for more plot/conflict/characterization than I'm getting.

[Bruce]

Dani wrote: "I am almost a third in and I gotta say Jim Dale's narration is absolutely perfect for this book."
I agree, he reads the poetic writing so well.

[David]

How important is it to introduce all the principal characters early in a book? (Important enough to justify fracturing the narrative’s timeline?) Are most of the NC characters paired (although sometimes the pairing shifts) or am I seeing something that is unintentional?

[J.W.]

I saw that Jim Dale read this one and immediately jumped on hold for it at library on audio. Still waiting for it to come in. I'm excited though!

[Jen]

I love the dreamlike atmosphere. There was a time in my life when I only wanted to read things like this. Reminds me a little of Haruki Murakami and also Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in how it makes me feel. I'm intrigued.

[Sarah]

Jen wrote: "I love the dreamlike atmosphere. ..."

This was my favorite thing about it.

[Kim]

I was reminded a lot of the HBO series Carnivàle, that was good but ahead of its time. I think it would get a much bigger audience now.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

Kim wrote: "I was reminded a lot of the HBO series Carnivàle, that was good but ahead of its time. I think it would get a much bigger audience now."

That was a pretty amazing show.

[Michele]

Jude wrote: "I'm "reading" it via Audible and half way through I can't tell if I love it more because the story is so great or because Jim Dale's narration is so perfectly suited. Either way, like others above,..."

Jim Dale! Anything he reads is bound to be good :)

[Anna]

Carnivàle was amazing, I wish I'd gotten the same feel when I listened to The Night Circus.