The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS: 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. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

[caption id="attachment_320" align="alignright" width="296"] The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern[/caption]

I enjoyed the characters, but the overall story wasn't all that memorable. The premise of the book is two rival magicians enter into a "competition" of sorts. They each select a young student to sculpt and train and, at some point, one of the students will "win" the competition.

What is the competition? No one knows. How will they win? It's a mystery that not even the players are told. I have to say, I was just about as annoyed as the competitors that they were kept in the dark (except when they did something wrong and the magicians popped in to criticize). They didn't see the purpose and, frankly, neither did I.

In my opinion, that plot line sucked.

But between the bits about the competition, there was a colorful account of one legendary, larger-than life circus (and the even more colorful people behind it). That was the true story and one that the author managed to bring to life with vivid imagery.

You can prettymuch tell from the early stages that the students are going to fall in love (this book doesn't exactly strive to surprise and I don't think that's the point).

It was OK. I enjoyed it and would read it again, but it could've been better.