
Bookreview
The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Joe Cheung
The blurb ofhErin iMorgenstern's The Night Circus is misleading
promising a fiercecompetition'and deep,magical lovebetween the main
characters,it could not be more fallacious.A more appropriate blurb might
mention the lush, dreamlike imagery,or the way the fragmented narratives
quietly slip closer to one another,fitting seamlessly like carefully crafted
puzzle pleces.The focus of this book seems.to be less on the flow of the
story,but more on the detailed descriptions,with theimagery inextricably
grounded in the narrative
The Night Circus starts with multiple storylines,but the two main
charactersaretheoneswe learn aboutfirst:Celia,the daughter ofa magician
who conceals his magical powers behind a veil of trickery; and Marco,
an orphan whose instruction under another magician was based almost
exclusively on books, charms and mysterious symbols. Celia and Marco
are pawns in a rivalry between the two magicians, and their confrontation
takes place through the creation of phantasmagorical exhibitions within‘Le
Cirque des Reves'-The Circus of Dreams -or, the Night Circus. Dreamt up
by a wealthy entrepreneur, the Night Circus is not any circus. In accordance
with its black and white colour scheme,its gates swing open in the dark of
night and shut at the first hintof dawn.It consistsof a multitude of tents,
each containing wonders more magical than the last-a maze of clouds, a
tent holding an entire forest, a picturesque garden sculpted from crystalline
ice. Many of these tents are created by Celia and Marco - each a move on
the chessboard of their battle-but the two fall in love with each other's
creations,and ultimately with each other.
The only true ‘flaw'that
Morgenstern presents is the love
between Celia and Marco,yet
even that is hard to accept without
question.The two‘fall in love’first
with each other's magic, then with
their appearance. Following that
logic of romance,any audience
member in Celia's crowd could be
said to fall totally in love with her.
Celia and Marcorarely see eachother
in person, and seem to be more in
love'in each other'sabsence rather
than presence.Their‘deep,magical
love'feels false and immature,and
perhaps more like admiration and
longing for companionship than
love. It could be that Morgenstern
is deliberately making a parody of
Victorian romantic ideals, but the
happily-ever-after ending suggests
otherwise. While the plot itself
is gripping, numerous plot holes
make it a less enjoyable read. For
example, we are told that there is
no other way out of the challenge in
which Celia and Marco are locked,
The value of this book lies mostly
BREATHTAKING' within its intricate prose,and the
author's delicate handling of magic as a
concept. The sentences are gripping and
yet we receive no explanation or
demonstration of this impossibility.
Night
Circus
E R I N MO RG EN S T E R N
enthralling,the descriptions detailed and
dreamlike.Morgenstern is a magician in
herownright:sheweaveswordstogether
to form exquisitely moving portraits
within a romantic Victorian setting,
complete with bowler hats and jewel-
toned velvet gowns.The magic,however,
does not extend to her two-dimensional
characters. The reader has no insight into
their inner thoughts:what makes them
laugh or cry? What would they say in a
certain scenario? We are told that Celia
is feisty,that Marco ismanipulative,that
The plotof The Night Circus
is impossibly intricate and twisting,
and the masterful way Morgenstern
crafts her picture with all these
seemingly incongruous and
unrelated pieces is breathtaking.
Reading for the first time, one might
dismiss all the secondary storylines,
deeming them unimportant.Yet it
isnot until the final chapters that a
reader would notice the fine spider-
silk connecting them,pulling them
DAZZLING'
'ENCHANTING' Isobel is dependent,but very little of
their character is shown to us through
together - almost magically. The
their thoughts,words and actions.
Night Circus is a brilliantly beautiful
book to be read not only once, but
multipletimes.
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