The Night Circus
A Novel
Book - 2011/09/13
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway&;a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love&;a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
Baker & Taylor
Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways.
Baker
& Taylor
Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways. A first novel. 175,000 first printing.
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Reading_Robot thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 8 and 16
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Add a QuoteI would have written you, myself, if I could put down in words everything I want to say to you. A sea of ink would not be enough.
Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that.
When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words.
"I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do."
"The heart of the tale and the ideas behind it are simple. Time has altered and condensed their nuances, made them more than story, greater than the sums of their parts. But that requires time. The truest tales require time and familiarity to become what they are."
“People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
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Summary
Add a SummaryThe circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
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Add a CommentMore visual than 75% of movies I've seen. Breathtaking.
Per Laura H.
This is one of my all time favourite books. I think Erin Morgenstern has created such an beautifully intricate world where so many stories are brought together to form something amazing. Her characters are complex and unique, and the concept is phenomenal. I loved this book from start to finish. It contains themes of love, growth, honesty, passion, tragedy and cunning wit. Such a good read!
I truly enjoyed the visual artistry and detail of this fantasy. It reminded me a little of JK Rowling's style.
Stunning novel. Morgenstern outdoes herself.
Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, is all about the Cirque des Rêves, a mystical circus that comes and leaves without warning, and is only every open at night. In this circus, the story follows two magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been training since birth to face each other in fight, where only one will be left standing in the end. Though the main characters of this novel are Celia and Marco, the book is really about the atmosphere and community of the circus: the performers, the spectators, and everybody in between. I greatly enjoyed reading The Night Circus because of the astounding world and ethereal writing Morgenstern has accomplished. However, despite the entrancing literature and alluring magic, this book is not for everyone. To begin with, the plot is almost nonexistent, and it is confusing for the reader to follow what exactly is happening to the book. In addition, the author throws the reader right in the midst of these event, without a lot of background information or solid world-building. However, a reader who loves intricate detail and imagery will love this book!
Could not finish it. The story was relying on plot devices that I just could not believe.
Two young children are chosen to be pawns in a contest by adults who, in one case, is her father, in the other, his legal guardian. What must they do to win they contest? Neither the children, nor we the readers, are told. Any attempts by the children, who rather quickly in the novel become adults, to get information about the contest, or what they should do is dismissed out of hand. When they accomplish something, it is impossible for us to judge if they are gaining or falling behind in this contest. Furthermore, when they do accomplish something, were are not really told what sort of spectacular, magical accomplishment they succeeded at making - just that they made a move in the contest - but again, without knowing what, if anything that moves accomplishes.
At about the half way point of the novel, I just did not feel that it was worth the effort to continue reading this story that was going nowhere.
Duning
A very submersive reading experience. Reads quickly and is beautifully absorbing.
I have never fallen in love with a book like this before. Somehow this book is an incredible journey and I am so thankful to have been on it.
However, this book is not for everyone. Not even close. I like to describe this book as a fairytale. Beautiful, flowy, and easily to get lost in.
But it’s also like a fairytale in the way there is little to no worldbuilding, rules or reason.
The magic told in this story just is. It has no limitations or lengths it cannot reach, it is like a fairytale because everything in this story just is- and you simply have to accept that.
There is no plot- Well that’s not exactly true. There is a plot, but it is incredibly slow-moving and (seemingly) random side plots will appear. The timeline jumps around, and you have to pay attention to keep up with the dates.
If you need a constant plot moving book, this book will not give you that. It is an extremely character-driven book.
I was perfectly happily to get lost in it and love it that more because of these reasons, however if you can’t- I would not recommend this book.
To everyone else, this was a gorgeous book. So easily to fall into this deep, magical world that made me feel like I was on some ethereal journey. I found myself yearning for things I didn’t know I wanted through this book. The descriptions are incredible and I will forever be thankful I read this book.