The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Release Date: September 11, 2011
Pages: 502
Rating: 💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it...
It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.




I loved this book so much; it's one of my favourite books of 2017, if not all time. It is so whimsical and wonderful, which is exactly the sort of book I love!

I can see why people might not enjoy this book though. It is a slow burner of a book, the kind which you can read over a week to try and absorb every single little detail that is stored within the pages. It is most definitely not a plot-driven story; very little action happens in this book and if there is any action is always over quickly. The story takes place over 30 years so you can imagine how long this story takes. So if you are the kind of reader who needs action to keep you hooked this book is not for you.

This book is so magical and fantastical that it just pulled me in and wrapped me up in a magical blanket. I loved that the magic in this world could be taught with theory and logic instead of just being born into the magic bloodline. It was the sort of detail that sort of grounded this otherwise fantastical book, and made it seem more realistic. I can imagine this type of magic existing in our world, instead of being trapped in the confides of the book.

Just the premise of the Circus, the characters, the illusions, the romance, the mystery...It all just takes my breath away. I love circuses and have always felt they were slightly magical, so reading about this circus made me so happy. The magic was very discreet in this book, you would barely notice it was there. I think whimsical is a much better word to use when describing this book because that is exactly what this book is. A little slice of whimsical in a world of rational books.

Erin Morgenstern's writing style was perfect for this book; if anyone else had written this book I don't think it would have worked  as seamlessly. Her long metaphors and similes wove together the Night Circus and placed the picture in my head. Even though I've never to a place like this circus I could see each tent as if I'd already visited the circus.

There was such a big cast of characters but somehow I felt so attached to each of them. They all had different personalities and attitudes that I couldn't help but love them. Each person brought something to the circus; even the smaller side characters seemed important in this story. It was as if the circus was made up by every person's differences, as if that was what powered it.

As there were so many characters I was worried that the ending would leave me disappointed, because I was sure she wouldn't be able to wrap up everyone's story lines. But somehow all the things that needed resolving were resolved and I couldn't be happier. All of the characters had the right conclusion for them, even if it wasn't the happiest conclusion.

I think this is another book that will have to go in my re-read pile (which seems to growing with every book I read!), although this story is going to stick with me for a long time. It's a shame Erin Morgenstern hasn't written any other books, because I'm certain I would love them just as much as this one!