REVIEW: The Night Circus

This is a book that I picked up, thinking that it would be a nice, interesting fantasy novel. It's written by an author I'd never heard of, but saw it made on the NY Times' Best Sellers list. The description on the back explains that The Night Circus, is obviously, a circus which performs at night, and goes on to say that the two magicians in the circus are engaged in a competition that neither fully understand, and that they fall in love over the course of this competition.

That was enough to get me mildly interested.

The story goes back and forth between different characters who are involved in different stages of the circus, but also addresses the reader as well, from your personal point of view. The book actually starts with a description of what the reader is doing and seeing. These descriptions are woven through the entire novel, taking the reader on a slow tour of the circus, from waiting for nightfall for the circus to open, through various tents and acts, all the way through the light of dawn and the closing of the circus. The story itself spans from 1873-1903, and as the story unfolds and the years pass by, the circus keeps moving and changing. As the story progresses, the small pieces that are from the reader's perspective are told in order, but spaced out so that the reader's "walk" through the circus is actually made up of multiple visits to the circus over many years in various countries with different exhibits, but fits together seamlessly. Genius.

The descriptions alone that Erin Morgenstern created make this book dreamy and unforgettable- the Night Circus is a dramatic and monochromatic affair, everything at the circus in either black or white, with performances that are not featured in any normal, real circus. Part of that is due to the fact that there are real magicians, Celia and Marco, changing the circus, always trying to outdo each other, but also down to the details. The Night Circus has an aura of sophistication and artistry that cannot be captured in a real circus. There were beautiful human statues, painted all black or all white, that moved so slowly that the difference couldn't be seen unless you stood watching them for hours. There were gardens made completely of ice, a cloud maze that had floating passages, a black wishing tree, and the giant black clock that stood at the entrance of every single circus. All of these are in their own separate black and white striped tents, and are featured over the many years that the circus takes place.

The plot is complicated, and unraveled itself amongst many characters' points of view, over many years, at a pace that kept me intrigued. I was legitimately surprised by the turns of the book. There was a myriad of people who were involved in the circus, and none of them felt too... perfect. They were complicated people with emotions, pasts and their own motivations, and there was no neat, happy ending for all the characters. They ranged from young magicians to old magicians, from clockmakers to farm boys. It becomes a story within a story within an experience. I don't want to give the ending away, and I don't think that I could satisfactorily explain the plot after just one read.

This novel has been compared to the likes of Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde, but I would also compare it to Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. The way that the story was told over so many points of view and a long length of time made me think of Bradbury's work. It also had the same dreamy, beautifully sad quality, as well as the frustration of waiting for characters' secrets to clash and then still being blown away when that finally happened.

I had no idea that I would come to love this book, that I wouldn't be able to put it down- I was almost late for work the day I read this because I didn't want to come out of the world that Morgenstern so intricately created. In fact, it is now added to my "favorites" shelf on my bookcase- a high honor, in my opinion. It's a novel that made me cry, one that dazzled me, surprised me. I was not expecting this book to be so sophisticated, so well planned or mature; it is not a simple young adult fiction paperback. I look forward to rereading this, and then perhaps I will do an analysis.

The Night Circus could very well be the best book of 2016, and I say this as a giant Harry Potter Fan counting down the minutes for The Cursed Child to be released. I hope that even without a plot analysis, I have peaked your interest, and you'll give it a read. Let me know what you think.

#review #fiction #fantasy #nospoilers #bookoftheyear #5Stars