"The Night Circus"
I don't go much for contemporary fiction and I really don't read the Latest Hyped Literary Fad, but I picked up Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and I enjoyed it. Though it's by no means perfect, it does have a several awesome things going for it:
- Morgenstern is a very visual writer, wonderful at describing the details and atmosphere of the circus. The production designer for the inevitable film adaptation is not going to have a hard time with concept art. The costumes will also be beautiful.
- The physical tension between the protagonists, Marco and Celia, is palpable but Morgenstern never writes anything explicit. I was really impressed with how she handled their intimacy.
- The supporting characters are all pretty great, each having their own thing going on that intersects with Marco and Celia's plot, but not always neatly. There is a lot of agency spread around, particularly amongst the female characters. The novel is also gay-friendly and inclusive of minorities. I initially had a little trouble with a mysterious and inscrutable Asian, but then all the characters are mysterious and inscrutable so it's not like Morgenstern was leaning too heavily on that trope.
- The setting: late Victorian London for the most part. THIS IS LIKE CATNIP TO ME.
- Machinery + Magic = FTW.
So, yeah, definitely give it a try if you like stories about people who should be enemies but instead fall in love and also magic and integral-to-the-plot-bowler hats.
- Morgenstern is a very visual writer, wonderful at describing the details and atmosphere of the circus. The production designer for the inevitable film adaptation is not going to have a hard time with concept art. The costumes will also be beautiful.
- The physical tension between the protagonists, Marco and Celia, is palpable but Morgenstern never writes anything explicit. I was really impressed with how she handled their intimacy.
- The supporting characters are all pretty great, each having their own thing going on that intersects with Marco and Celia's plot, but not always neatly. There is a lot of agency spread around, particularly amongst the female characters. The novel is also gay-friendly and inclusive of minorities. I initially had a little trouble with a mysterious and inscrutable Asian, but then all the characters are mysterious and inscrutable so it's not like Morgenstern was leaning too heavily on that trope.
- The setting: late Victorian London for the most part. THIS IS LIKE CATNIP TO ME.
- Machinery + Magic = FTW.
So, yeah, definitely give it a try if you like stories about people who should be enemies but instead fall in love and also magic and integral-to-the-plot-bowler hats.