“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisement in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”
So begins The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, a 500-something page tale of competition and love that centers around a mystical circus filled with acts of wonder and daring. It’s a long time favorite of mine.
I first read this book in middle school after borrowing it from a friend. The cover drew me in, with the black and white illustration surrounded by pops of red highlights. I finished it quickly, entranced by the storyline and detail that Morgenstern put into her piece. Over the summer I reread it, and I was amazed at how well it held up and how much I still enjoyed it six years later.
The story itself focuses on the lives of two magicians in a lifetime duel named Celia and Marco. Raised by their respective fathers, their fate was to one day battle and win their family glory. Instead, the two find themselves wrapped up in a circus called Le Cirque des Rêves, turning tents into their battleground as they worked to create the most intricate and beautiful displays of magic. They end up forsaking the competition and finding a new meaning in their lives.
The story is a love poem to freedom in life and choosing one’s own destiny.
There were a few things in particular I enjoyed about The Night Circus. The pacing is super well done and helps to move the plot along without becoming boring. Morgenstern also keeps the reader’s attention by jumping through different time periods, showing the creation of the circus, the childhoods of the main characters, and the time the story actively takes place in.
However, the book is not all perfect. The plot is dense and can take some time to read through in order to pick up on all of the details and understand the actual point of the circus. Because of this, the plot does not always make sense until it’s tied up in later scenes, leading to confusion.
Personally, I really enjoyed this book. I found it fun to read and it’s a story I go back to often. My favorite part is how there are brief scenes where the author puts the reader in the story. She gives you the chance to just wander around the circus and make the entire setting seem so much more real. I think it adds to the magic and breathes a lot of life into the story.
If you’re looking to inject a little fantasy into your life and want to run away from reality, I highly recommend this novel.
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!