Book Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

From goodreads:

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.

My Thoughts: 

I had to read this for my book club, and I had to really read through it fast because of all the other books I was finishing up first. I found this book to be very slow in the beginning. I had a lot of trouble focusing on it, had to reread a lot of pages, and it was a bit confusing getting alllll the characters down since it jumped around a LOT. Once the circus actually begins...it gets very good from there. This book was sooooo visual. I couldn't imagine any filmmakers even able to do the book justice on the screen and I can't imagine how they would even be able to pull off all the imagery and illusions! It definitely would be a Baz Lurhmann or Tim Burton movie. This book was a cross between Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and a bit of Twilight. But it's certainly more an adult book than all those others. All in all...I'd say this book was "ok". I will be curious to see the movie when it comes out (I heard that a film version is being put together)

Book club: We wore Black, White, and Red