The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Book Review

I should have completed this book review a while ago, especially as this was the first book I read in 2016! But i’m finally getting round to starting up book reviewing, so here goes…

I have given The Night Circus 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgernstern

Genre: Magical, Fantasy

Blurb from the back of the book:

‘The circus arrives without warning

No announcements precede it…

It is simply there, when yesterday it was not’

Not only did these three short sentences automatically draw me in to buying this book, but the cover of this book was too elegant and beautiful to resist.

The blurb gave me a sense that this book was going to hold a lot of mystery and intrigue. I couldn’t wait to read every chapter, sentence, word I was going to come across.

This story takes place between the 19th and 20th centuries, following two incredibly talented illusionists, Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair. Since their childhood, they had been preparing for the day they were going to compete against each other, which had been set by their mentors. Two rivaled magicians: Prospero the Enchanter – Celia’s father and Mr A.H. also known as Alexander “the man in the grey suit” who found Marco from an orphanage.

The Night Circus is a very mysterious, elegant circus like no other. It darts all around the world from town to town. Only ever open at night. Le Cirque des Rêves also known as The Circus of Dreams. Enchanting tents filled with talented contortionists, illusionists and many other wondrous characters flowing throughout the circus.

Beyond the beauty of the circus lies a cruel game. A duel between two illusionists, who are unaware of the fact that only one of them can be left standing.

Starting my review off, I don’t think I can applaud and thank Erin Morgenstern enough for creating a book of such delicate wonders and mystery I never thought my eyes would fall upon. This book was unlike anything I had ever read. I loved the way Morgenstern poetically described nearly everything in this book. For example, “Only the ship is made of books, its sails thousands of overlapping pages, and the sea it floats upon is dark black ink.” I’ve never imagined a book so clear or in such exquisite detail before.

Unfortunately, I was unable to give this book a complete 5 out of 5 stars as although I enjoyed the style of writing and the great detail throughout the book, I started out confused and a tad lost. There were a lot of characters that I had to take into account, which was one of the main parts of the book that I found hard to keep track of. After a while everything settled in but I still found myself questioning who was who. Furthermore, I found it quite difficult to remember what happened in some previous chapters when it skips back and forth between different years. So I had to look back over some pages just to keep myself in the loop. A few more chapters along, out of nowhere I started sailing through the book and from then I found it incredibly hard to put down. Hooked. Absorbed. I couldn’t get enough.

This is one of a few books I’ve read where I would like to escape reality and run away to the Circus of Dreams, never returning.

 

Look. At. This. Gorgeous. Creation.

This incredible book cover comes to life, I found this beauty here

This book is simply one of a kind, a masterpiece which I believe anyone who is interested in magical and mystery stories should read as soon as they can get their hands on it.

Who knows where the circus will turn up next…