The Night Circus: A Novel Paperback – 3 July 2012

Every once in a while a book comes along that amazes you. That leaves you speechless, that leaves you incapable of words, that leaves you wondering how you're going to adequately review a book that is so much more than any words you can type. For me, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is that book. I feel that no matter what I say, no matter what I write, my review will never, ever do justice to the amazingness of this book. I could type for days about how much I loved the book and I still wouldn't feel as if I had adequately gotten my point across. To really, truly believe just how good The Night Circus is, you simple have to read it. No amount of reviews you read, no amount of authors can tell you how good it is; you have to read it yourself and if you do read it (and I really think you should) then you should prepare to be amazed.The Night Circus is like no book I've ever read before. It's truly spectacular and, better yet, it's truly unique. I'm sure there are many books about circuses or about magic, but none will ever come close to how special and how utterly captivating The Night Circus is. It's not the kind of book I normally read - it isn't Chick Lit, it isn't a crime novel, it doesn't seem to have a genre but anybody who likes a good story will enjoy this. You don't have to be a circus fan, although it will probably help. You just have to like well-written fiction and you have to have a bit of an imagination. There are thousands of books published every week that say they're fiction, but The Night Circus is true, proper fiction. It's not something you can see happening, it's not true-to-life, it's good ol' fiction and it's stunning. It's fiction in its purest form, a proper story. Something I'll re-read many times, with a story I'll never forget.There are so many threads to The Night Circus, so many different elements and characters that help make the story what it is but it's so easy to keep it all going. The central plot is the circus itself, of course, but there are so many layers to the novel that it's hard to define just one main plot. It all adds up, it all comes together, all the strands, all the plots, to make an extraordinary read. There's Celia Bowen, daughter of Prospero the Enchantor; there's Marco, who came from nothing to be something; there's the other folks who live in the circus; there's a boy named Bailey who becomes a major part of the book; there's the Murray twins Widget and Poppet; there's Herr Thiessen, a clock-maker, and then there's the people who started Le Cirque des Reves. There's so much detail, so much thought that's gone into the novel and it's mind-blowing. There's not a chance I picked it all up during my first read and I'm going to have to read it again because it's the kind of book you can read again and again and I have no doubt that during the second read I'll notice things I never noticed before. It's that kind of novel.Erin Morgenstern is a genius. She's a magician. Her mind must be an amazing place to be because The Night Circus is just so rich with detail. It's so captivating - so much so that I truly would love for The Night Circus to be real. I'd love to go and be part of that. The book just blew my mind. After reading it I can see why it's billed as the love story of the year, why it's billed as the best debut this year. Heck, it's one of the best debuts ever. It is truly one of the best books I have ever read. I literally found myself reading the book slowly on purpose. I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to reach the end because there was something so magical about reading about everybody. I grew to love the characters so, so much and all I can do is urge you to read the book. It's beautiful inside and out; the UK hardback is one of the most stunning books you will ever see, with so much detail having been put into it and the story inside is even better. It's the complete package. I will never read a book like The Night Circus again. It captivated me from page one and I loved every page. All of the hype is deserved, and more. Just read it, I swear you'll love it.

I'd been meaning to read this book for a while now, and certainly it came with high expectations.The essential premise the book is built around is that of a 'game' being played out between two competitors, Celia and Marco. The two have been pitched against each other from a young age by their respective teachers, 2 magicians with very different schools of thought; the venue for this competition being the Night Circus.Firstly, what I loved about this book - the setting and sense of atmosphere evoked is simply enchanting. The Night Circus is like something out of dreams, and Morgenstern captures it so vividly with her descriptions - not just visually, but in a way that appeals to all the senses, you can literally smell and taste the circus. I also liked how the story started off with a sense of mystery, and thought there was a good set up for the 'game' to be played out between Celia and Marco. There are a host of colourful characters throughout, some loveable like Poppet and Widget, others shrouded in mystery.The 'game' being played out between Marco and Celia gets complicated by their developing feelings for each other, and the evolving romance between them plays out sweetly and in a dream-like way that fits the tone of the book.Whilst the concept of the story and the setting were really good, I was ultimately left a little disappointed in the story's actual execution. Once the 'game' is underway and the Circus set up, not much actually seems to happen until the end of the story. The tone gets a little darker as it progresses, with suggestions that the magic involved at the Circus can have repercussions, and also as the 'game' draws closer to its conclusion. However, for me personally Morgenstern was rather too vague in her allusions to all not being quite right at the Circus. I would have liked to know more about the implications Marco's and Celia's magic had, particularly as it transpired that the challenge was not so much about what wonders they could produce, but rather how they managed the consequences.In parts it seemed as if Morgenstern had sacrificed actual plot progression and substance for her lyrical prose and descriptions of the Circus, and whilst I very much appreciated the latter, I would still have liked more 'meat' to the actual story.There are different time frames in the book, and a whole sub-plot that follows a character called Bailey. Whilst I appreciated how this fitted into the book overall, I thought perhaps a little too much time was spent here, and again at the end it was as if things just conveniently came together, with the right person being at the right place at the right time.Overall an interesting and unique read, but not quite living up to all the hype for me personally.