The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs - the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter's daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love...

A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.

Reviewed by elysium on

5 of 5 stars

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Celia and Marco are bound to a duel from childhood by their mentors, to a duel from which only one of them will survive. The venue is a circus that arrives without notice and opens only after sun goes down. But what their mentors did not take into account was that they might fall in love.

I’m so happy I finally decided to read this because I loved it! Before I started it I wasn’t sure about the whole circus thing but it worked here.

This isn’t action packed but it still managed to be not boring. The time changes were little confusing at first but I got used to them,

I loved Marco’s and Celia’s relationship but it could have felt more closer if they would haven spent more time together. There were years when they had no contact with each other which meant many chapters with no contact. I loved seeing them growing closer and learning more about their magic and what they’re capable doing with it. It was interesting to see Celia building some kind of relationship with her father and what kind of person it made her.

I have to say I never really got the meaning of this duel. I mean there was never any real confrontation between the players and it seemed like they never really did anything besides creating a new tent. Yes those were some special and cool tents but still. And how does that kind of duel really end? What makes the winner a winner? But that would be my biggest complain that the world would have been better explained.

But I really loved the book and it was a great debut. Can’t wait to read more of her books!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 June, 2012: Finished reading
  • 17 June, 2012: Reviewed