“Anticipation.
The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”
The summer of 2012 was an eventful one for me: big family vacation to Ormond Beach, FL, the Summer Olympics where I watched the Fierce Five win the gold medal in women’s gymnastics, and it was the summer I discovered my favorite book. In 2012 I had just graduated eighth grade and was headed to high school and I was just as much of a book nerd then as I am now. I don’t remember how I found The Night Circus. It was almost like the circus found me.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was published in 2011 with little to no fanfare. If I could remember how I found it, I could make up a cool story about stumbling upon it in a cute bookstore, but the first copy I owned was on my ancient Nook that has since died, and that’s about as far from “cute” as you can get. The book’s fanbase is relatively small, I actually haven’t met anyone that has read this book before I recommended it to them. There’s a small amount of fanart and you can’t find terribly much discussion about the book. It’s also the only book Morgenstern has ever written…so how did she manage to write such a mesmerizing book on the first try? No really, critics constantly call this book “mesmerizing,” click here for a link to her website.
The Night Circus captivated me from the very first page. The first chapter starts from the reader’s point of view. Morgenstern paints YOU the picture of the circus, describing all the sights and smells in detail, never forgetting even the smallest thing. Perhaps that’s why I love this book so much, you get every single piece of detail and if you aren’t paying attention, you’ll miss the most important parts. The book then describes intersecting stories of the circus: Celia and Marco, Mr. A.H and Hector, Poppet and Widget, Isobel and Ethan, the Burgess twins, Bailey, Chandresh, Ana, Herr Thiessen, and Tsukiko. All of these people play an integral part of running the circus.
As the title of this piece says, I have actually read this book nine times. Every time I read it I find myself right back in the center of the circus watching one of the shows or smelling the caramel corn being made onsite. “The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.” I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve pictured myself standing in this stunning, sensory overloaded, black and white circus smelling that caramel in the evening breeze. (You can buy a seasonal candle from Frostbeard Studio that smells of The Night Circus. Light it when you read the book and I promise you’ll feel like you’re there. It’s magical.)
This book is truly an experience. I could tell you how absolutely captivating the love story is, I honestly think this book made me a hopeless romantic. From quotes like: ”I would have written you, myself, if I could put down in words everything I want to say to you. A sea of ink would not be enough. But you built me dreams instead,” or “You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift,” or “You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus. You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.” Think about this people, it’s 1886, you’re madly in love with someone and you can’t text them so you write them stunning letters that you cherish forever; that’s how I feel when I read this book, like I’m reading the greatest love letter.
The amount of time I could spend talking about Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus is endless. I’m thankful every time I pick up the book that I stumbled upon it in 2012. I hope to pass this book on to as many people as I can. After nine times, I’m excited to visit the circus another time…perhaps now is the best time.
You can purchase The Night Circus here, here, and here. You can also purchase the “Le Cirque des Reves” candle here during the fall. Let me know if you read this book, I want to hear about your trip to the circus.