I feel as if I have awoken from a dream.
Of course, that isn’t unique to this book, any more than other books that completely draw me in, and make the world outside seem dull.
The Night Circus by Eric Morgenstern is amazing (in the not-just-a-positive-adjective sense of the word). It’s one of those books that when you’re reading it, you will rave on and on about it, but otherwise you simply recollect a feeling of thoroughly enjoying it. As you read more, you fall more in love with the characters, the story, and the Le Cirque des Rêves itself.
Eric Morgenstern weaves a tale of love, loss, magic, and other cliché words that hold little meaning due to over use. The Night Circus make you think more than anything else, how real the world actually is, and if what you dismiss as impossible is simple to others who know the process of how to do it. Beyond the philosophical and bittersweet feel of the story, Mr. Morgenstern uses his characters to fully express the range of mystery that the circus provides.
Celia Bowen is a surprisingly honest character. She uses no stage name, does nothing to hide her magic except advertise it as illusion, and when directly confronted with questions, tends to reveal a fair amount of information. From a main character that has as many secrets as she does, Celia never really seems intent on keeping any of them. The magic that Celia weaves is the circus there is no other way to describe it.
Marco Alisdair. Wheew. That man is really something else. He has a great range of emotion, and he develops in character VERY nicely thoughout the book. I enjoy that Marco does not believe himself to truly be better than other enchanters simply because he uses a different technique. That is an individual mindset that I don't see too often in fantasy literature. His relationship with Alexander is very complicated because it is not a simple "I like my father figure" nor is it "I hate my kidnapper" relationship. Because Marco hates him AND loves him which gives a depth to their relationship that many other father figure realtionships don't have.
Herr Friedrick Thiessen is a priceless gem and I’m sorry that he died. Whoo boy his death actually hit me pretty hard, and so I elected to ignore it until I couldn't anymore. Which turned out to be unfortunately soon after...
HIS CLOCKS ARE AMAZING THEY MAKE ME WANT TO BE CLOCKMAKER
The twins- Widget and Poppet are rather unique characters. I appreciate the symbolism of Widget being born before midnight (and being able to see the past), and Poppy being born after (and being able to see the future). They are very good siblings. But then again, most twins seem to be better at not fighting than non-twins. Poppet is my cup of tea. She can tell the future, but she’s not obsessed with doing so. She is taking her time growing up too, for the most part.
THEY TRAIN KITTENS INSTEAD OF BIG CATS LIKE THEIR PARENTS OMG YES.
Bailey- hype for the new ringmaster, am I right? I think he’ll be marvelous running it, and it is always proper and perfect when someone who is continuously awed by magic is in charge of it. Oh! And I ship Bailey and Poppet because they are both so great.
The Rêveurs- I believe that I’ve recently become one :)
-The idea that they are part of the circus, but also apart from it is rather poetic, and fitting. The camaraderie and general friendliness is the defining characteristic of the rêveurs, and it really helps the reader to become one. They create the feeling of belonging on the inside of the story, but outside the circus, just as well as the insert-reader chapters do.
The Competition is a love story. Thought not necessarily between Hector and Alexander. But rather it seems to be “who can make a player that will want to sacrifice themselves second?”
The Circus is a jungle gym that grew into a jungle. Rather unlike how Alexander and Hector planned it. The tents are mostly a collection of love letters from Celia to Marco and back, which is what makes the Circus so beautiful.
Things I didn’t like
-the layout. I have a hard time following books that jump back and forth, but it was very important to have that element to weave the different parts of the story. TBH, I just used the twins’ age to tell when an event was.
-the way that everyone we really came in contact with seemed older than their age in maturity, with speech patterns and such. Of course, the people we met were typically adults, with a few magical/important exceptions (ex: Marco, Celia, Bailey, Widget, and Poppet).
Things I liked:
-how the sides of nature vs. nurture (or natural talent vs. studied talent) came into play during the competition
-the Widget’s and Poppet’s parts in the story
-actually how it ended. I didn't really expect that, but it was better than one of them dying and then the other living in misery.
Favorite quotes:
-Basically all the descriptions of clothes because clothing imagery is a guilty pleasure and Mme. Pavra is wonderful
-“...a grin that has too much wolf in it to be sheepish.”- Celia Bowen
-“’I prefer to remain unenlightened, to better appreciate the dark.’”- Friedrick Thiessen
-“’Do you often give forbidden tours of your employer’s house?’
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