The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

[nannah]

I think this book is basically the dream circus everyone wishes they could visit. Not just the Night Circus as described in the book, but the actual novel itself: the tale of the dueling magicians in love, the birth of the reveurs and the redheaded twins, the farm boy whisked off to join the circus, everything. The story develops much like the unfolding of tents, it's slow but it just kind of falls all around you, creating an atmosphere rather than shoving you through a sweeping plot with unpredictable twists and turns.

Because predictable isn't all bad. It's been getting a bad rep lately, but if it's so bad, why do people continue to enjoy fairy tales and retellings? It's not just the details but the way the whole idea is expressed that makes it enjoyable.

The writing for the most part was beautiful and lovely, although it tended to get weighted down by unnecessary adverbs, descriptions, and repetitions. For example, I believe there was even a sentence that went like this: "He nodded to show his consent." Morgenstern often told us too much when it came to characterization and showed everything when it came to the atmosphere of the circus. It does add to a fairy tale-like feel but I felt a little cheated, as though the circus was more important than characters and their relationships (to each other and to objects).

There were a number of bright and lovely characters in here, but I really enjoyed the twins Poppet and Widget most. It was beautiful to see how though the story focused on its main protagonists Celia and Marco, the twins were becoming more than just details. The unfolding of their later importance to the circus was magical and enjoyable to read. Marco, though, I am left feeling lukewarm about him. It seems he was only present to be a love interest, and that he was motivated by little else.

But all in all I enjoyed this book.