This was a tough book to get through, not because it was bad, but more because I think that I, personally, was distracted. Things you shouldn't do: read long books during NaNo. Morgenstern really is an amazing writer and the imagery she produces in this book is simply phenomenal. I really loved reading about all the tents because it never, at any point, got boring. And I like that all the tents were so fantastically different. They weren't just variations of each other, they were fully fledge, well thought out and different tents.
I also liked how Marco and Celia were always in a dance, from day one. Even when they didn't meet they were dancing around each other and then, when they finally met, were dancing with each other. It was intricate and intimate. I like that they had a romance from afar. It almost made it better because it was so... intense.
However, my favorite characters were not Marco and Celia, they were all the periferal characters of the circus. I think Tsukiko was my favorite. She was very outside of everything, trying to hold herself aloof, but yet in her actions you could tell how much she cared. A.H and Celia's father you ended up hating because it seemed if they just didn't care what happened to the circus and those contained within, these people you had come to love. The Twins were so young and fun but so much hung in the balance for them. Really, it was the lives of all those in the circus that I cared most about, not really Marco and Celia as much.
The only real criticism I have is that it dragged a little. It was hard to get through the beginning of the book. It wasn't that I wasn't interested, I was, but I wasn't so intersted I couldn't put it down for a bit and do other things.
My Bottom Line 4/5
People who have read the book will understand this better, probably more than the people who haven't read the book, but this is my overall response to The Night Circus: Reading the book feels like being at the Cirque des Reves in the book. It's surreal, it's beautiful, and it's fun. And, for me anyway, I have a hard time remembering the details after it's over. It all goes a little fuzzy when I'm outside of it, but once I'm back in, it all comes rushing back.
I was invested in the characters. What will they do? What will be done to them? Why did they do that? That is one of the marks of great writing.
I can't pick a favorite character, or setting, or anything, because all of it is so intertwined, I can't pick it apart. (Like the circus, she said, emphasizing her earlier point.)
It is a big of a long read, so don't try to read it when you have only tiny excerpts of time to work with. This is how most of my reading gets done, because all I have is small swaths of free time to use not working, driving, or sleeping, so my reading is choppy. This has a very interrupting effect on a story as smooth as this one.
I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't take issue with a little magic and enchantment.
Oh man, I am so late in the game. I am reading this book now, and so far, I love it. I love the different points of view, and how she reveals things slowly. I am about halfway through and I've enjoyed everything so far. I do feel like Celia has been much more developed than Marco, so although I like him, I am more invested in Celia. I also really like Bailey and I am curious about how his character fits in the story. I'll let you know more when I finish it.
ReplyDeleteDespite this being a long read, I read it in two days. I liked it that much, it sucked me right in. The descriptions were absolutely fabulous and I wanted to be AT the circus. I was invested in all the characters but I particularly fell in love with the man who made the clock who started the Reveurs(I can't remember his name at the moment). I really hope this gets made into a movie someday. I think the imagery would be fascinating.
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