Book Review: Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Early on in this book you hit the "F" word which I personally stumble over in any book I read, and always wonder what place it has back at the turn of the 19th Century, when in my mind the word didn't exist.  However, that said, it was only used the one time, and the book itself was a fascinating experience.  A little dark, but then the circus only happens at night so dark is to be expected, right? 

Basically the story is about two magicians who pit their students against each other in dramatic competitions to prove which method of teaching is the best.  The students in this particular competition happen to be one magician's own daughter; the other child, a boy, plucked from an orphanage.  Add to the two children a litany of other characters with a huge variety of personalities and mystical abilities, and a story that jumps back and forth from the ending to the beginning and everything in between, and you have a creative tale that gives hints and foreshadowing and still never gave away the ending. 

I enjoyed the book.  And like all good books, wish it hadn't ended yet.  I will probably carry it within my heart for a few more days before diving into my next book.

(On a side note, I read a lot of symbolism into this very black and white book - on retrospect a ton of symbolism, much more than I anticipated on the outset.  Suspect it would be fun to discuss with a book group.)



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