REVIEW: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I know I'm super behind the hype on this one, but I've wanted to read it since high school, I promise! And I'm so glad I was finally able to, because I think it totally lives up to the hype!

CHARACTERS
This book has so many characters, it was a little difficult to keep track of them. But the ones we need to really concern ourselves with are: Celia, her father, Marco, Mr. A. H---, Isobel, Chandresh, Tara, the clockmaker whose name I have difficulty spelling, Tsukiko, Bailey, and the twins Poppet and Widget. Now, even that's a lot, but Chandresh, Tara, the clockmaker, and Tsukiko are more minor - they just happen to have huge hands in the plot! And that's one thing I like about this novel - each character does something. They are not just set pieces for the plot to happen to, they move the plot forward. Some more than others, of course, but in general each character has something to do with the plot as a whole.

Personally, my favorite character in The Night Circus is Bailey! I feel I can relate to him the most, as he's just a normal boy who loves the circus. Most of the other characters are too distant for me to relate to: magicians, circus performers, eccentric rich folks who gather for dinner at midnight. Of course I latch onto the dreamer of a farm boy as my favorite. Not that I don't love the other characters - each one is unique, interesting, and great fun to read about, in my opinion!

I would gladly read much more about all of these people - Tsukiko in particular!

PLOT
So, the basic plot of The Night Circus is that there is a mysterious circus - Le Cirque du Reves - that shows up quietly in the night, is only open at night, and seems full of an air of unusual magic and mystery. Layered behind the face of the circus, though, is a decades-old competition between two magicians - Marco and Celia - with hidden rules and the ability to change the lives of everyone involved with the circus.

Now, that's a very basic description of the plot, but that's about all I can give without spoiling the book for those who haven't read it yet. The story is complex, layered, and one of the most interesting things I've read in a long time. I mean, who doesn't want to read about a magical circus only open at night, right? The competition was interesting as well, reading how the two magicians made "moves" within the circus to attempt to prove themselves. And I loved the magic! All in all, this plot pressed all the right buttons for me.

WRITING
At first, I was a little put off by the writing style Morgenstern used in this book. It was oddly distanced from the characters, moreso than most things I read. I thought it weird that I couldn't really get into any characters' head, that the writing was holding me at arms' length. however, as the story continued, this writing became part of the charm. I don't know what it was, but the distanced writing grew on me!

RATING
Another five-star book! My reads this month have been great so far, really. Though I wasn't sure for a little bit, as the story went on I grew more and more enchanted by it, almost as if the magic in the story was working on the book as a whole.

RECOMMENDATION
I'd recommend this for people who like magic, mystery, and unique stories set in the nineteenth and early twentieth century!