The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Completion Date: September 10, 2011

Reason for Reading: R.I.P. VI Challenge

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.

I have decided to torture myself and attempt to review two books that I loved in a row. I am not sure how much justice I really did to The Way of Kings, but here I am again wanting to gush and cheer about another wonderful book. Seriously, I loved this book. It will be on my best of list for the end of the year. If you are living under a rock and are not caught up in the fever surrounding this book, come out from under the rock and get a copy! It was all sorts of wonderful and deserves lots and lots of enthusiastic praise! I knew from the first moment I heard about this book that I was going to have to read it, so I was very excited when I received a review copy from Random House Canada. If I am particularly excited about a book I like to read it a bit ahead of the masses.

I have found over the years that I really enjoy books that have a circus setting. There is something magical about circuses and it appeals to me. This book has a magic circus, which I loved the idea of, so I knew I was going to enjoy reading all about it. Firstly, I would love to visit the circus mentioned in this book. I think I could easily become one of the people that is captivated by it and follows it around the world. The glimpses into the exhibits captured my imagination and made me want to hear everything I could about them. It would be one of my greatest delights to see them in person. Secondly, Morgenstern writes really well and captures this world in such vivid detail. I loved it! It isn't just about the circus, but also about the late 19th to early 20th century that this book takes place in. She captures the time period really well.

For those wondering just what they are getting themselves into with this book, picture this: A famous magician finds out that he has a daughter when she is dropped on his doorstep. He quickly discovers that she has amazing powers as a magician in her own rights. It turns out that her father used to teach students to train in a complex game setting. When he cultivates his daughters' abilities a bit, he decides that the time is here for another challenge. He calls in a mysterious man to train someone to be competition for his daughter. When they get to be a certain age, this fantastic circus is created for them and they use their powers to manipulate the elements. They do things not only to the performers themselves, but they also create awe-inspiring tents and performances. Celia Bowen, the magicians daughter, performs with the circus, while her competition, Marco, is the assistant of the man who owns the circus. The rules of the game are never really explained to them and they go through most of their lives not even knowing who they are competing against. When they do find out, though, the circus becomes about much more than just a game.

This book is just so vibrant. I loved sitting down with each time and couldn't wait to visit with the characters again and again. They all come alive and my description above is just the basic story -there is so much more going on. I strongly recommend this book!

This book counts for the R.I.P. Challenge VI.

Thanks to Random House Canada for sending me a copy of this book!