The Night Circus
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"The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book."--Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife
"This must be one of the most beautiful novels of the year. Its die-cut cover, black-edged pages and intricate endpapers attest to the publisher's hopes that Erin Morgenstern's magically minded debut will secure the vast audience left bereft by the conclusion of the Harry Potter chronicles"--The Observer
"Dark and dreamy; a captivating love story"--Stylist Magazine
"Dazzling"--Marie Claire
"Lushly imagined, extremely charming and very, very readable"--Scotland on Sunday
"Morgenstern displays a conjurer's dexterity as she develops her tale, and you'd need a heart of stone not to melt at the melodramatic denouement."--Daily Mail
"The narrative is deft and satisfying, and the author's talent is intriguing"--Times Literary Supplement
"Enchanting, and affecting... I was compelled by the world itself--by its saturated colours and textures, its unexpected smells and tastes. It is--a surprisingly rare thing in fiction--a strikingly beautiful world, in spite of its darkness."--Claire Messud, The Guardian
"Morgenstern's writing, when it comes to magical creations, is delectable, addictive stuff... [it] leaves a tang of smoky caramel in the air as it ends, and an undeniable urge to go to the circus"--The Sunday Times
"This must be one of the most beautiful novels of the year. Its die-cut cover, black-edged pages and intricate endpapers attest to the publisher's hopes that Erin Morgenstern's magically minded debut will secure the vast audience left bereft by the conclusion of the Harry Potter chronicles"--The Observer
"Dark and dreamy; a captivating love story"--Stylist Magazine
"Dazzling"--Marie Claire
"Lushly imagined, extremely charming and very, very readable"--Scotland on Sunday
"Morgenstern displays a conjurer's dexterity as she develops her tale, and you'd need a heart of stone not to melt at the melodramatic denouement."--Daily Mail
"The narrative is deft and satisfying, and the author's talent is intriguing"--Times Literary Supplement
"Enchanting, and affecting... I was compelled by the world itself--by its saturated colours and textures, its unexpected smells and tastes. It is--a surprisingly rare thing in fiction--a strikingly beautiful world, in spite of its darkness."--Claire Messud, The Guardian
"Morgenstern's writing, when it comes to magical creations, is delectable, addictive stuff... [it] leaves a tang of smoky caramel in the air as it ends, and an undeniable urge to go to the circus"--The Sunday Times
Book Description
A novel of magic and love that is enchanting readers far and wide with the spectacular power of its imagination
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By
This review is from: The Night Circus (Hardcover)
The hype for this book has been everywhere: if you've missed it you have possibly been under a rock for the past few months. Normally, if a book has SO much hype I give it a wide berth until it has all died down so that I can read it and savour it on my own but this one had me so intrigued and convinced that I would love it that I was itching to read it. Magic and Victorians, I thought; what's not to love?Unfortunately quite a lot. Despite loving parts of it, most of it left me hugely underwhelmed. OK, so let's talk about what I liked about it first: the images created from this book were vivid - the costumes and the settings were largely well written and I could see them easily in my head. Infact, one thing that I loved was that several years ago I had visited the Cirque du Soleil and I remember a really heady smell of powder and costume paint in the tent, and reading this book managed to evoke that sense again which made me smile. I loved the tents and what was in them - acrobatic kittens, snowy wonderlands, the labarynth eating caramel and chocolate popcorn. I also loved the tent where whenever you took the lid of a random bottle you were transported to somewhere else, comeplete with smells and taste: it reminded me of what I love about books - you get so emersed in another world that it's often a surprise to look up and realise that you are still in your front room. Now on to what didn't work for me: I never felt like I got to know any of the characters well enough; there were too many and none of them felt fully fleshed out to me. The books blurb has us believe that there is some epic battle of wits and skill between the two young aprentices, Celia and Marco who are pitted against each other in a battle to the end, despite them falling in love. I never bought their relationship at all - it came out of nowhere and it would be months, even years, between them seeing each other for only a few hours. Where was the passion or the tenderness or the longing to be together? It was the most understated relationship I have ever read about. Also, this epic battle that is eluded to in the blurb is hardly that - infact it takes about 20 years; the pacing was way off to make it in any way exciting or intriguing. Verdict: For me, this was definitely a case of style over execution. The plot felt weak. The visuals were good but the plot was more of a whimper than a bang and I found myself rushing it in the hope of getting to the end and being rewarded which I never felt I was. It's a shame - I wanted to love it but I really didn't.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Step Right Up!,
By
This review is from: The Night Circus (Hardcover)
"The circus arrives without warning.No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not." So our story begins - the circus just appearing out of the ether as did my advance review copy of this debut novel, much to my delight. The UK edition looks stunning with black edged paper and end papers illustrated with a pattern of bowlers and top hats. This is a feast for the eyes which is perhaps not surprising as the author is an artist but will the inside match the luxurious facade? This is an odd review for me as, amid all my oohing and ahhing, I was all too aware of how some of my bookish friends would absolutely hate this book and would be cringing from the opening pages. So, best to get that elephant out of the room before I go any further! If you don't like magical realism, if you're not a fan of meandering narratives, if you prefer action, if you don't like novels written in the present tense, if you don't like fantasy then there's nothing for you here. However, if, like me, you do like a bit of escapism, you like to slip into another world, if you enjoy visual stimulation, then step right up! The story is perhaps the least important element of The Night Circus, that role being reserved for the circus itself but yes, there is an underlying narrative, the story of two gifted young illusionists, Celia and Marco, being pitted against each other in a lengthy battle the rules of which are vague. Le Cirque de Reves (the Circus of Dreams) is the battlefield and it soon attracts a faithful following of "reveurs" (dreamers) who follow its progress from town to town, continent to continent by means of a shadowy underground movement. There is a secondary storyline involving Bailey, a country boy who becomes linked to the circus and will have a key role in future events. There is a varied cast of weird and wonderful characters, including Celia's villainous father, Hector, his rival, Alexander, the man in the great suit as well as the supporting cast who keep the circus going. These are not characters you expect to empathise with, this is a show after all and they are there to entertain you just as the various tents house a myriad of visually stunning scenes, the Ice Garden, the Cloud Maze, the Labyrinth etc. Some have compared The Night Circus with Audrey Niffenegger and yes, I can see slight similarities given that both authors are visual artists. Others mention Alice Hoffman and yes, I can see some elements in common but Erin Morgenstern has created a unique world with the Cirque de Reves and for those who are on the right wavelength she has provided a pathway to a singularly enchanting universe, one in which my inner child revelled. Highly recommended for all "reveurs"/dreamers.
51 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best debut of 2011!,
By
This review is from: The Night Circus (Hardcover)
Lucky enough to have read a proof copy of this title some weeks ago, I've been itching to tell you how good it is! If you want to be swept away then 'The Night Circus' will certainly snatch your imagination and take you on the most incrdible journey. Captivating and dreamlike, the tiny chapters will tempt you for hours on end.I was seduced completely by the magic, the intrigue, the characters (none more impressive than the circus itself), the converging timelines of the plot, and a mix of chill air, caramel popcorn smells, dancing kittens, and the flap of black and white canvas. I read a lot, but its rare to find a book this special. Some books feel like more than books. Some books have jackets that may as well be false doors in the back of dusty old wardrobes, the way that they can instantly transport you to someplace magical. This is such a book. Mooted to appeal to the Twilight generation (although this is much, much better) or even 'Harry Potter for grown ups', with film rights already snapped up before publication - I think this book has enough strength to be a smash hit in its own right. I hope it is. This is definately one to buy and keep and re-buy and gift to your friends... When people drift away from reading as a habit, this is the kind of book i want to put into their hands to say "See? See what you're missing!?" Bravo, Erin Morgenstern!
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