Title: The Night CircusAuthor: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN, PUB Date: 978-0385534635, September 13, 2011
Reviewed by: Libby for Author Exposure
One word sums up this 387-page novel: Amazing! If you haven’t gotten your copy of The Night Circus yet, please do. This is one of the best, perhaps the best, novels of 2011. Erin Morgenstein has accomplished much with her debut novel—a work of literary genius.
Simply put, The Night Circus is about two young illusionists who are pitted against each other in a competition by their respective caregivers. The circus is the stage wherein the battle of their life takes place. Celia and Marco only begin to understand exactly what this “game” means years into the competition. Filled with magic, romance, and mystery, this fantastical book follows these two competitors down their journey. Along the way we meet a cast of colorful characters: a horologist, a contortionist, a fortune-teller, and a set of red-headed twins.
This book takes place in the 19th century, over the course of thirty years. Following the path of this intercontinental traveling circus, the storyline jumps around both in time and geography. I found this confusing in the first few chapters, but it became clearer to me as I continued reading. Time is actually one of the many themes of The Night Circus.
This book is rich with points of discussion. It would make for a great book group selection. In fact, a set of twenty great reading group discussion starters is available on the Reading Group Choices website. Spoiler alert: Some of these questions reveal key plot points, so please read the book first.
I highly recommend The Night Circus to all readers. It has a great storyline at the surface and an even greater one if you look deeper into it. I know I missed some elements during my first reading, so I can’t wait to read it again. I can definitely see this book being one that strikes you differently each time you read it. Enjoy!
0 comments:
Post a Comment