Review by Sandra Pineault
The circus arrives without warning. It is there one day when it simply was not the previous day. The tents are striped in black and white with no other colors to be seen. The hours of operation are from nightfall to dawn. Le Cirque des Rëves, the Circus of Dreams, is an enchanted place and the setting for a beautiful love story between competing magicians set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Written by Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus casts a spell on the reader from the first page.
Celia and Marco have been trained since childhood for a duel of their magic abilities, with the circus serving as the arena for the players. Their talents are no sleight of hand, but true conjuring. Celia can turn clothing into birds and can change the color of a fabric with her mind; Marco can create entire worlds at will, invented environments of great beauty, simply by passing his hands over one’s eyes. Their mentors have prepared them for a fight to the death, but they could not have foreseen that the two opponents would fall in love. Their magic produces tents containing astonishing delights, such as a cloud maze, an ice garden and a living carousel as part of the competition, but soon they create the tents to please each other as they fall in love. Tension builds as the reader hopes for a way in which the lovers can defy fate and find true and lasting love.
The star-crossed lovers are surrounded by a collection of characters that make the circus possible. Hector Bowen is the father and teacher of Celia, while the Man in the Gray Suit, sometimes called Alexander, takes in and mentors the orphaned Marco. Herr Friedrick Thiessen makes the magical clock that is a centerpiece of the circus; he becomes the leader of the fans of the circus, called “The Rêveurs,” who follow the circus from one location to the next. Poppet and Widget, fraternal twins born on the night that the circus opens, become friends with Bailey, a boy who becomes enthralled with the circus and is fated to play an important role in the survival of the circus. Many other colorful characters make the circus possible as associates and conspirators as well as members of the circus company.
The Night Circus is author Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel. In addition to writing, she is a multimedia artist, which is very evident in her lush and vivid descriptions. She has written an enchanting fairy tale, a Harry Potter for adults. Her writing style is lyrical and creates a spell in which the reader is entranced. She studied theater and art at Smith College and currently lives in Boston. The Night Circus will make the reader want to run off and join the circus, but only if it is the wondrous and thrilling Cirque des Rëves.
Sandra Pineault is a retired teacher, a One Book committee member and a Murfreesboro native
