The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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 Reves," 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 per-formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.


My Rating: 2.0/5 
Genre: Fantasy, Adult, Contemporary


Hardcover, First Edition, 387 pages 
Published September 13th 2011 by Doubleday






MY REVIEW:



As it is already obvious by the rating, I didn't like this book. It has been a week or so since I finished it, so I will try something new that I hope that you, the future reader will appreciate more. 

"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 Reves," and it is only open at night."

Yes, indeed it does. It is the only part of the description that is honest to the reality. If you are obsessed with circuses, then you did it my friend! This is the book for you! Nestle in your bed, cancel all your upcoming obligations and devour it to the last page. You will be rewarded with down to detail descriptions of the magic tricks and tents and what not, and the characters are shallow enough that they won't disturb your fantasies at all.

"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."

Here is the point where, when you read your description you are bracing your self for a bookish version of the ultra famous movie Prestige, and your imagination is running wild. Brace your self for a big let-down, because this is a game that you will never be explained to you, and  no, it does not have the feel of a great mystery - it is the definition of "mild". I didn't find any "unremarkable" will by the way. If I was a magician locked up in a room since childhood, I would know no other way of living except for what I was trained to do - as a result, it wouldn't require will in order to create, it would be my every-day routine. 

"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. "

I wouldn't describe myself as the most passionate person out there, but certainly I know how to have fun. And this WAS NOT FUN at all. First of all, lets have a brief display of the characters: Celia, owner of good looks and unremarkable idiocy. She is just another female character in the Romace genre, who practices the damsel-in-distress tactic, being good only at entertaining people.  Marco, on the other side, one of the most slimy male interests i have ever come across. He uses everyone and everything if it serves his purpose, and still Celia will never doubt his motives. WHAT THE HELL PEOPLE? Not to mention that the most intense thing happening between them are those flickering chandeliers, because both characters are shallow enough to make you feel emotion. 

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

Oh, what a beautiful closure for the description of this book. 

Personally, it makes me want to use the Night Circus as an ash trey. In a brief wrap up: The characters made me sick, not all of them though. Because there were four people in there, which I think would make much better narrators and protagonists: Those are Tsukiko, Mr. A.H-, and the twins, Poppet and Widget. Tsukiko's story is much more interesting than Celia and Marco's, much more tragical, and Mr.A.H- is the only mystery in this book that answered to my expectations. As about the twins, they were otherworldly enough to be interesting. At least, the ending was decent enough and I continued using my regular ash tray.