Blog Tour: A Review for The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern + Excerpt + UK/Commonwealth Giveaway

Posted by Donna 
Expected Release Date: May 24th, 2012

Finished Date: May 10th, 2012

Publishers: Vintage

Source: For Review

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

The Review: “I have tried to let you go and I cannot. I cannot stop thinking of you. I cannot stop dreaming about you.” 
<
The Night Circus is one of those books that has had a lot of hype surrounding it and I have to say, I’ve wanted to read it since I first heard about it. Now after reading it, I can honestly see why so many people loved this book because it is a magical and enchanting read but I’m one of those people that neither loved nor hated it.

Morgenstern has definitely delivered a promising and historical story – one that is intriguing, captivating and beautifully written but for me, I felt there was something missing from the story but I’m not sure what. It’s no secret this is book is completely out of the norm for me, so maybe that’s the reason why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped. I kept expecting something spectacular to happen near the end and it didn’t happen so I guess my expectations were too high.  

Now, what I did like about the story were the characters. Morgenstern did a fantastic job portraying the highs and lows from our characters and I really liked the connection they developed with each other. Their romance was beautifully written and it's enough to melt you're heart. Celia was my favourite out of the two – I loved how brave and strong she was and she really stood out as a character. 

All in all, I’m glad I read The Night Circus and even though it’s not a favourite of mine, it was still worth a read so I would highly recommend it. 

Read Now for an Exclusive Extra Scene from The Night Circus (Vintage Books)

 The Collected Writings of Friedrick S. Thiessen (1905)

Original article first published September 23rd, 1892

It is often autumn when the circus appears, or those early days of winter after the first frost but before the first snow. It is not a summer circus, though it may appear in spring when the night air is still chill and damp. It matches best with the late autumn trees stretching their bare branches out over grey skies, the grey blending pleasingly with the black and white.

It can be supposed, then, that when it is autumn in one part of the world the circus is likely to be found there, and when the earth tilts in a different way the circus will be found opposite, on the other side of the world where it is autumn while it is spring where the circus had been previously. It chases the seasons around the globe.

I have attended carnivals that are summer carnivals, at night with the heavy air and singing crickets, when the sugared treats and candy seem stickier and have a tendency to melt. This is not that kind of circus.

It is a cozy feeling, to walk through the paths of the circus in the crisp air, to be chilled enough in the night to need a scarf but to be warmed when you enter a tent or pass by the bonfire. The shifts in temperature are subtle but comforting. And it is a joy to have a cup of warm cider or tea to sip, steaming and soulful.

Perhaps these small comforts help to ground the extraordinary experience of the circus in small, tangible ways. Sipping a cup of cider is familiar; it puts one at ease. It prepares the self for more unusual experiences to come.

The courtyard is a taste, a sampling of the circus. It gives the patron a hint of what to expect inside the numerous tents.

The whole of Le Cirque des Rêves is formed by series of circles. Perhaps it is a tribute to the origin of the word “circus,” deriving from the Greek kirkos meaning circle, or ring. There are many such nods to the phenomenon of the circus in a historical sense, though it is hardly a traditional circus. Rather than a single tent with rings enclosed within, this circus contains clusters of tents like pyramids, some large and others quite small. They are set within circular paths, contained within a circular fence. Looping and continuous.

There are wings to the circus, fanning out from the center like spokes on a wheel. If you were able to view the circus from above, it would look something like a series of soap bubbles stuck together as they float.

Of course, what it looks like from above is not much matter, unless you are a bird. And you would never be able to tell, walking through the circus as a spectator, where each ring begins or ends. Eventually you will end up where you started, that is the only certainty.

That, and the bonfire is in the center.

a Rafflecopter giveaway