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. (Goodreads)
Review by Kim Harris Thacker, writer, mommy, and Bookshop Talk Host
THE
NIGHT CIRCUS has received extraordinary praise, including starred reviews from
Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. The novel
started out as a writing challenge: Unpublished writer Erin Morgenstern
decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month, or what is more
commonly referred to among writers as NaNoWriMo. The book was written in
bits that came together over time (longer than the month-long challenge) to
become a dazzling, engulfing experience—not surprising, since Morgenstern is
also a visual artist.
Celia
and Marco are two magicians who are involved in a contest that is destined to
be a lethal one—making its gorgeous venue rather ironic. Le Cirque des
Rêves (or the Circus of Dreams) is tantalizing, from its black-and-white
striped tents containing such marvels as ice gardens and mazes made of clouds
to its too-delicious refreshments (chocolate-drizzled popcorn and rich apple
cider, oh my!). I was completely blown away by the gorgeous and
unbelievable, yet utterly believable setting Morgenstern created. Her
writing is so vivid.
Le
Cirque des Rêves takes over the lives of the magicians who work with it,
becoming something so real that it is almost a living creature. This kind
of vivid setting can threaten to take over a story, dwarfing its characters and
the other crucial elements of the narrative, but Morgenstern balances the novel
as well as the acrobats balance in the circus’s tallest tent.
A
tip: Read THE NIGHT CIRCUS with some kind of treat in hand.
Market: adult fiction, fantasy (I think YA readers would enjoy this one too, though the book is definitely adult)
Language: moderate (only a few instances, including one “big” swear word and a couple of instances where someone uses the name of to Deity as a curse)
Sensuality: moderate (one sex scene that is not explicit, several rather obvious inuendos)
Violence: moderate (mutilation; a stabbing)
2 comments:
I'm reading this one right now and LOVING it. Wondering why it took me so long to get a copy!
I want to read this! I love the cover. There are a lot of covers that don't do their books justice, but this one seems perfect for the title. And it makes me want to go to a circus at night.
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