The Night Circus

To misquote Shakespeare: "The circus is the thing..."

In Erin Morgenstern's beautifully envisioned debut novel, the circus fills the reader's mind, to the point that I kept catching echoes of it in movies and TV ads for weeks after I finished it. I believe when I reviewed Beautiful Creatures I said that the setting (small Southern town) was as much a character in the book as the people were. The Night Circus takes that to a whole new level. It is enchanting. I want to knit myself a red scarf and go (read the book to understand that).

I decided to read the book after my friend Casey described it as her "adult Harry Potter." Wow. Since we share our passion for HP, I couldn't wait to discover another new and magical world.

But.

It wasn't that simple for me. Night Circus is a much more complex read, denser and with a structure that is less straight-forward. The author jumps between settings and years in a way that I found confusing, especially at first. The jumping around made it harder for me to sink into the feelings of the characters. And trying to imagine a "love story" spread over a span of 11 years with such limited contact is a stretch for me. In an interview with the author, she said the book didn't have a plot for a very long time. It had a PLACE, and some characters, long before it had a proper structure to tie it all together. Yes, I think it shows.

But, part 2.

It is still magical. The descriptions are lush. I suspect there is much more going on than I caught on my first reading. Surely something about finding yourself. And every now and then I would find a message that would ring so true I would have to stop to write it down. Much like some of the wisdom of Professor Dumbledore used to stop me and make me think, "Yes. This!"

"It feels as though the Bailey who entered the circus was an entirely different person than the one leaving it now....He wonders which is the real Bailey, for certainly the Bailey who spent hours in trees alone is not the Bailey...who makes friends with such interesting people without trying.
By the time he reaches the farm, he is sure that the Bailey he is now is closer to the Bailey he is supposed to be..."

I love that because I recognize it - I've had such evenings or experiences. Stages on the road to the me I'm supposed to be.

And here's one that speaks to the reader/writer in me -

" 'It is important,' the man in the grey suit interrupts. '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. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words....There are many kinds of magic, after all.' "

So, The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern [512 pages, 950L, recommended ages 14-17, although I might go higher] - 8 bookmarks out of 10, for beautiful writing and a unique concept. It's a love story - sort of. It's a fantasy about magicians - but you don't really see the magic much. Mostly, it's a trip to the circus, perhaps as only a child could view the circus. Magical and full of wonder.

Note: While uploading this I ran across a review of The Night Circus by one of my favorite authors on Goodreads. You might want to go see what Maggie had to say - I thought it was pretty spot on.