The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, centers around Celia
and Marco, two ‘gifted’ young people who have the ability to perform illusions
and magic. The pair are chosen by their respective mentors to be opponents in a
long running challenge, or game. The venue for this game is The Night Circus, a
glorious example of magic and illusion that only opens at night. The circus
travels around the world, never warning of its arrival, simply appearing one
day. I read this book while I was staying up North, in the Highlands of
Scotland. There was very little to do up there and that meant that I was able
to give this book my full attention. I kinda think that if I hadn’t been able
to give it my full attention I would have had absolutely no idea what happened.
Morgenstern has included some of the
best description I've ever read, and as someone who’s interested in descriptive
writing, I’ve read a lot. This does make it quite a slow read however, and I
found myself struggling to grasp quite how the intricate details of Marco and
Celia’s ‘challenge.’ The relationship between the two was developed excellently
and I did finish the book quite quickly which means it definitely hooked me. I
did love certain aspects of the book however I feel like Morgenstern may have ‘rambled
on’ a bit much and overcomplicated an otherwise intelligent and, for lack of a
better word, brilliant plot. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone
with a love of fantasy, however I am not an avid reader of the supernatural and
I still loved it so anyone should give it a go.
Overall: perhaps not as good as some of my friends made it
out to be, but still the best description I’ve ever read and a great tale, with
a wonderful (if confusing) ending!
Rachel. X
