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A review by theqissilent
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5.0
Originally posted on 80booksblog.com
I'm going to borrow a quote from another book to sum up my feelings about The Night Circus: "I fell in love like you fall asleep; slowly, then all at once."
As hypnotic as the magic Celia and Marco perform, and a plot that develops like the gears of Herr Theissen's clocks about to strike the hour. I wanted to reread it immediately, to watch it unfold all over again, greedy for any details I overlooked the first time. Considering that you end the book where you start, it invites you to do just.
There's a very dream-like quality to the narrative, and watching Celia and Marco's love story feels, I imagine, much the same way the Rêveurs (ardent fans and circus followers) feel about the circus itself. With each new tent and attraction, the more memorized you become. I love how Tsukiko, the contortionist, calls them love letters rather than the challenges they are intended to be.
It took a little while for me to get used to the non-linear structure, however. But, be assured that it will all come together in the end. Time, and timing, are such important parts of this story. Telling it out of sequence only heightens the anticipation and draws you in deeper.
And of love? This is a love story, but not just Celia and Marco overcoming the ambitions of their fathers and teachers to be together, but also their love for the people pulled into their game unknowingly. And Celia's determination to save them, the circus, and Marco, even if the cost is her life. And those people that loved them and the circus and are willing to sacrifice "normal" to be a part of it: Chandresh, the proprietor. Bailey, whose role is a mystery for most of the novel. Widge and Poppet, who are the children of Celia and Marco's love manifested through magic. The Burgess sisters. Friedrick Theissen. Mr. Barris.
Yes, I am sacrificing grammar for this review. And I'll stop gushing now.
A few favorite lines and then I'm done:
"Secrets have power. And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well."
"Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that."
"We lead strange lives, chasing our dreams around from place to place.”
"The most difficult thing to read is time. Maybe because it changes so many things.”
“I made a wish on this tree years ago," Marco says. "What did you wish for?" Bailey asks. Marco leans forward and whispers in Bailey's ear. "I wished for her.”
I'm going to borrow a quote from another book to sum up my feelings about The Night Circus: "I fell in love like you fall asleep; slowly, then all at once."
As hypnotic as the magic Celia and Marco perform, and a plot that develops like the gears of Herr Theissen's clocks about to strike the hour. I wanted to reread it immediately, to watch it unfold all over again, greedy for any details I overlooked the first time. Considering that you end the book where you start, it invites you to do just.
There's a very dream-like quality to the narrative, and watching Celia and Marco's love story feels, I imagine, much the same way the Rêveurs (ardent fans and circus followers) feel about the circus itself. With each new tent and attraction, the more memorized you become. I love how Tsukiko, the contortionist, calls them love letters rather than the challenges they are intended to be.
It took a little while for me to get used to the non-linear structure, however. But, be assured that it will all come together in the end. Time, and timing, are such important parts of this story. Telling it out of sequence only heightens the anticipation and draws you in deeper.
And of love? This is a love story, but not just Celia and Marco overcoming the ambitions of their fathers and teachers to be together, but also their love for the people pulled into their game unknowingly. And Celia's determination to save them, the circus, and Marco, even if the cost is her life. And those people that loved them and the circus and are willing to sacrifice "normal" to be a part of it: Chandresh, the proprietor. Bailey, whose role is a mystery for most of the novel. Widge and Poppet, who are the children of Celia and Marco's love manifested through magic. The Burgess sisters. Friedrick Theissen. Mr. Barris.
Yes, I am sacrificing grammar for this review. And I'll stop gushing now.
A few favorite lines and then I'm done:
"Secrets have power. And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well."
"Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that."
"We lead strange lives, chasing our dreams around from place to place.”
"The most difficult thing to read is time. Maybe because it changes so many things.”
“I made a wish on this tree years ago," Marco says. "What did you wish for?" Bailey asks. Marco leans forward and whispers in Bailey's ear. "I wished for her.”