This book contains many scenes which deserve a 5-star rating. However, as a whole, I give The Night Circus 4/5 stars for having a weak fourth act and not being reader-friendly.
(For those who want to know more before they read, the blurb is at the bottom of this review)
I can understand the fuss. The descriptions in The Night Circus are fantastic. I haven’t read a book in a while that displays this level of skill, imagination and originality in conjuring (ha! see what I did there?) a place and its atmosphere.
The idea of the circus and the magic behind it is ingenious and many of the characters are truly intriguing.
But this book doesn’t do its readers any favours. It jumps back and forth in time and place almost every chapter. I read the book in three long sittings and still got lost. I felt I needed to draw myself a timeline so I could figure out how old everyone should be and what had happened and what was going to happen. If you were reading this book in short bursts I imagine you would get exasperated quite quickly.
In its fourth act the book seems to tail off. The conclusion is ok but feels somewhat flat when we suffering readers deserve something spectacular for having kept up with all the time hopping. And then there is a final scene to do with storytelling that makes a stab at being “meta” and “wink-wink, readers, I know you’re there” which made me cringe.
Overall: The Night Circus is worth reading for the experience of the circus, brought to life so effectively by Morgenstern’s jaw-dropping descriptive talents. Just don’t expect a relaxing read or an explosive conclusion.
P.S. My review is solely about the story, but I would like to mention what a beautiful object the hardback edition of this book is. The illustrators and designers should be proud.
The blurb:
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 Reves,” 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.
Art and Soul 
I agree! I had really high hopes for this book and really enjoyed the first 80%, but found myself disappointed with the conclusion.
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And it is such a disappointment! I started to wonder if the author had planned to end it a certain way, hit a dead-end, and was then forced to come up with what she did. A shame! 😦
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Yes, agreed! I felt like she gave up and didn’t know what to do at the end.
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Your review makes me really curious about The Night Circus! Hopefully I will be able to read it next month. Great review!
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Thank you! I was conflicted because on the one hand it is so ludicrously impressive and sensuous, and on the other hand you spend a lot of time going, “Eh? Where and when am I now?!” which rips you out of the amazing world the author has constructed. Definitely worth it for the bright spots though 🙂
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Someone bought this for me for my birthday last year but I haven’t got round to it yet…i think I must have squinted at the first few pages and since having my son I really haven’t been a fan of books that seem too much like hard work. I will do though. It keeps looking at me…I agree about the cover!
The two books I’ve read recently that I found completely immersive in terms of atmosphere and place are Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez) and The Siege (Helen Dunmore) Have you read either of them?
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Completely understand the need for lighter reading after a long day looking after children. My brain is usually fried by 8pm!
Thank you for the recommendations. I haven’t read either of those and I should really read the Marquez in Spanish (although One Hundred Years of Solitude has scarred me for life…). I have just added The Siege to my ‘to read’ list on Goodreads so it’ll remind me (otherwise I forget titles and authors pretty much instantly these days). I definitely need to read a few light, sunny things first though! 🙂
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Yes Siege is certainly not light and sunny. I haven’t read 100 years of solitude but those in my book group who have said that love in the time of cholera is VERY different. It’s not magical realism for starters…
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Didn’t mean to press send…oh no, all my titles are not titles!! But you get the gist I’m sure x
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Fab review; and you’ve nailed my feelings exactly although I wasn’t as generous with my * rating. My review is going live tomorrow 🙂
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Thank you! I’ll look out for your review. I think I was generous because I enjoyed certain scenes so such 🙂
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I never actually made it to the end of this book, but it sounds like I wasn’t missing much. I too thought the descriptive writing was beautiful, but it was the fact that I couldn’t keep up with where everything was that led me to abandoning it eventually.
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I don’t blame you! And no, you didn’t miss anything life – changing. The best bits are in the first half.
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Hmmm, this has been on my shelf for months and people keep telling me I need to read it!! I’m intrigued, so I think I will now 🙂 Just to see for myself…
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It is very good, just rather confusing and not as “amazing” as some reviews might have you believe. I think everyone should see for themselves because the descriptions are worth the effort 🙂
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I’m really curious to see what The Night Circus is like, I’ve heard time and time again how awesome it is. It’s too bad its pacing was really off for you, but I’m glad that you were able to enjoy the book all the same! Great review! ❤
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