Book Review - The Night Circus
BOOK REVIEW
THE NIGHT CIRCUS - ERIN MORGENSTERN
BOOK RATING : 5/5!
It was such a treat getting to read this novel. I have always loved novels that are about circuses because most of the time they have a fantastical story plot that captures my attention immediately and The Night Circus is by far the best that I have read. It dazzled me from front to end and I love that at the end of the novel you realize that the whole story was supposed to be written by the character, Widget. I thought that was a very clever ending.
There were so many different levels and timelines mixed up that came together at the end. It all began with the beginning of the game being started between Hector and Alexander then progressed into the game itself with Celia and Marco as the opponents. However there was also Bailey's story being told in different timelines as well. The grand finale being that Bailey was meant to take over the circus and save it from falling apart. I also enjoyed the fact that Bailey's last name is sort of a hint to the famous Barnum & Bailey circus (I think that's what it's called?)
The different circus preformers that were picked by Chandresh to be in The Night Circus were all so bizzarely strange. I just loved them. I felt really bad for Isobel because she loved Marco who couldn't love her back. I always feel really bad for those characters, especially when theyr'e sweet like Isobel. Then I have to say what really threw a curve ball for me was the fact that the contortionist, Tsukiko was in a previous game put on by Hector and Alexander, and was the one that survived obviously. She was probably the coolest of the circus preformers for sure.
Poppet and Widget, the Murray Twins, definitely intrigued me. They have the sight because they were born at midnight when Marco lit the special bonfire and put the game in motion. They both captured my heart in different ways. They both seemed like the perfect friends to have around so I'm glad that Bailey met them, not just because he needed friends, but it allowed them to make Bailey want to take over the circus.
The Celia and Marco love story nearly drove me to tears. I swore the whole time that they were going to have a heartbreaking ending. I was actually preparing myself for the tragedy the whole time. They were so perfect for each other and besides that they were linked through the game. It was actually a side effect of the bonding, but luckily, Celia finds a way out of it. I had a chuckle out of it because she was able to do what her father and all his boasting wasn't - she transported herself and Marco to another plane of existence where they could be together forever!
The game masters themselves annoyed me. Hector did nothing but berate Celia nonstop and teach her in a way that was in not beneficial and made him the worst father imaginable in her eyes...and let's face it, in the reader's eyes too! Alexander was too nonchalant about everything for me to like him at all. He had some good qualities, like the way he taught Marco. Still, he wasn't phased by Thiessen's death when he was one of the ones who caused it. Plus, he wasn't happy to hear about Celia and Marco making it out alive. Both of them I just wanted to have them get what was coming to them. Although in a way, Hector did. He's stuck in a weird astral body completely alone! HA!
There was only two characters that died violently in the book; Tara and Fredrick. I didn't really have time to get attached to Tara so her death didn't really affect me as much as Fredrick's did. The poor guy was so attached to the circus and loved everything about it so I was basically on the couch feeling practically every emotion. I remember wanting so badly for Celia to heal him and send the knife hurtling into Alexander instead but unfortunately, she didn't have the ability to do so.
The really cool thing about this story is that it felt like you were actually at the circus with them. Morgenstern is a very good descriptive storyteller and I could see, feel and hear everything in my mind. I so badly wanted one of those spice drinks and cinnamon rolls, and I would have loved to see the White bonfire. I would love nothing more than to put myself in this book if something like that were to be possible!
I enjoyed this book front to back and I am not exaggerating when I say THIS BOOK IS SO EFFIN AWESOME!!!!!! So please pick it up, I urge you to because you will be so entranced with the story and the characters. I guarantee that you'll have a swinging good time!
----------------------------
Book Info -------------->https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9361589-the-night-circus
About the Author --->https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4370565.Erin_Morgenstern