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Sep
13
Read It Now: THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern
2011 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published September 13, 2011 by Doubleday
When Josh and Jenn first talked about The Night Circus on a spring episode of the Bookrageous podcast, they used words like “enchanting,” “magical,” and “dreamlike.” They raved. They ooohed and aaaahed. They sold the hell out of it. I was a month or two behind them in reading it, and when I did? I sent them an email in which I described it as “amazeballs.” Because, you know, it seemed appropriate.
Some of you have been reading this blog long enough to know what I mean when I talk about a book being amazeballs (or fanfuckingtastic, or some other invented-on-the-spot adjective), but in case you’re here looking for more:
The circus pops up unannounced, black-and-white striped tents filled with the kinds of things that under normal circumstances you can only see in your dreams. A maze made of clouds, wherein you can jump from the very highest without fear of falling. A garden made of ice. A carousel on which the carved animals appear to breathe and blink. A room filled with bottles that contain full sensory experiences built of memories and desires.
Le Cirque des Rêves opens at nightfall and closes at dawn, and that is not the only thing that makes this circus a horse of a different color. Behind the scenes, two young magicians, Celia and Marco, are competing in a battle they’ve been training for their whole lives. With the dream-filled circus as the setting for a showdown orchestrated by their mentors, Celia and Marco can’t help but fall for each other, which makes their discovery that this is a competition only one of them can survive all the more complicated.
Erin Morgenstern has written a terrific book and created a beautiful and fully-realized world—one it’s easy to lose yourself in—between its covers. And the imagery! Oh! The! Imagery! I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted art prints inspired by a book’s imagery so much before. Try this on for size:
When she opens her eyes, they are standing on the quarterdeck of a ship in the middle of the ocean.
Only the ship is made of books, its sail thousands of overlapping pages, and the sea it floats upon is dark black ink.
Tiny lights hang across the sky, like tightly packed stars bright as sun…
…Celia walks to the edge of the deck, running her hands along the spines of the books that form the rail. A soft breeze plays with her hair, bringing with it the mingling scent of dusty tomes and damp, rich ink.
The Night Circus is about a world filled with unexpected magic, and Morgenstern uses it to hint at the magic we might find in our world if we were just open to seeing it. This is a genre-bending debut that will appeal to readers of fantasy and commercial fiction alike, and the romance is steamy without even inching toward graphic, which makes it a perfect crossover book for YA readers. It’s so good, you can practically smell the popcorn.
Put on your favorite all-black outfit, dig up your red scarf, and ready yourself for a visit to Le Cirque des Rêves.
No related posts.
I always read these damn posts of yours and start to hyperventilate. I DO have this book, and will be reading it as soon as I finish the one I’m in right now. I can almost imagine all of this in my head, and it gives me the chills!
Sandy´s last [type] ..BBAW Monday Topic – Community: An ode to two of my favorite bloggers
Oh yeah! I read it and loved it. I took it on vacation purposely so I could read it in a condensed time frame. I was so glad I did. It was a world in which I definitely wanted to lose myself. I’m planning on getting the audio version for a re-read. I adored this book.
SuziQoregon´s last [type] ..Short Story Monday – Gustav Amlingmeyer, Holmes of the Range by Steve Hockensmith
I loved this book! I just reviewed it today, too. All the buzz is making me think I am going to have to re-read it through audio…
Kailana´s last [type] ..The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book is on my shopping list, to pick up asap!
I can’t wait now after your great review!
jac @ for love and books´s last [type] ..Top Ten Tuesday :: Top Ten Books I Read Because of Another Blogger!
I reviewed it yesterday and FREAKING LOVED IT. Seriously, I hugged it when I was done. “Amazedballs” is the perfect descriptor.
Andi´s last [type] ..Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I’ve seen so much hype about this book, since the spring, so I’m thrilled it’s living up to the buzz!
audra´s last [type] ..Road from the West by Rosanne E. Lortz
Oh. My. Goodness. Talk about amazeballs! Double amazeballs, if there is such a thing! The only bummer for me is that there is a 22 person holds list on this book at my library. So it may take a while to get around to it, but you made The Night Circus sound absolutely drool-worthy, and now I can’t wait! Thanks for a great review!
I agree – amazing book. Unique, inventive, and absolutely breath-taking. I’ve already planned a post teaching non-crafty people to crochet their own red scarves. I’ve started on mine
This is the second time today that I have heard about this book (today being the first day I’ve ever heard of it)… and I have to have it. Thank you for making it worse!
Linus & Bubba Books´s last [type] ..Why an English Degree?
I am sold!
The Reading Panda´s last [type] ..Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos
I am looking forward to this one; a lot of bloggers have saying good things about this one.
I read it when it came out. It is wonderful. Now i listen to the audio (Jim Dale narrator) as I am cleaning house.
[...] read it too: S. Krishna’s Books | Fyrefly’s Book Blog | The Book Lady’s Blog | Alison’s Book Marks | Book Monkey | Fantasy Book Critic | Good Books and Good [...]
With so many points of view going on throughout the story, the end of the tale magnifies the main conflict in the story as all the pieces finally come together. Aside from the story itself, the characters are well developed and the constant change in locations as the circus travels allows for constant movement in the story. Overall this story is fantastic and I was sorry to see it end.
Yay! I got this book for Christmas and just started it. It took a few pages for me to feel particularly interested- the prologue felt too wordy, as if it were trying too hard. But once the actual plot began I was hooked.
Sharayah Pranger (@LB_Books)´s last [type] ..This about sums it up.
Thanks for the Review………..I’m definitely going to check this out….
[...] Fantasy Book Critic, A Patchwork of Books, S. Krishna’s Books, The Book Lady’s Blog, Book Chatter, Leeswammes, Book’d Out, My Books. My Life., Jenny’s Books, largehearted [...]