Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Night Circus

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

188 reviews

latida94's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A great story that brings out the wistful in me so strongly. Very evocative in the settings of the circus and does a really good job of making the whole story feel rather dreamlike. Can't help but love and want the best for the characters (besides maybe 2 of them).

Content Warnings

vireogirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A magical, mystical world. I suspect it would make more sense on the second read.

Content Warnings

nadia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really thought this was gonna be my second 5-star read of the year, and my 33rd across all-time. I was obsessed with this book when I started it, reading it for the first ever official StoryGraph readalong.

I was here for the mystery and intrigue...but then it unfolded in a way that I wasn't expecting and couldn't get on board with. And I was disappointed.

On top of that, some explanations for things, or where things were left, felt unsatisfactory given the build-up. I don't need everything laid out to me, not at all, but given the slow build-up and anticipation, I expected a little more here.

However, the vibes were immaculate and I loved the writing, the setting, the atmosphere, and the cast of characters on the whole, but when I try and give this book a 4.5-star rating, it feels too generous given how disappointed I was with what turned out to be a key element of the book.

I wasn't looking forward to giving The Starless Sea a go given the little I'd heard about it, but now I'm excited to check it out, even if it ultimately ends up not being for me.

Content Warnings

theaceofpages's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm so happy that got to relive the magic again after so many years. The last time was back in school and I actually did an artwork inspired that striped cover page (well actually two since our end of year project had to incorporate elements of other works we'd done over the year and those stripes were a great way of connecting things!).

I'd definitely forgotten a lot of what happened! While it wasn't quite the same as reading it for the first time, it was still such a great experience. The writing is just as beautiful as I remember it being. I loved the mysterious tranquillity of the circus. And the clock! I love the clock. Being able to explore some of what it contains was definitely my favourite part of this book! I will say that, like last time, I found keeping track of all the characters was a little confusing, although it was better this time around. (also, a side note here. The original adults are terrible! I had forgotten or maybe didn't even realise the first time just how bad they are...

I mean, essentially sacrificing kids, stealing their childhood and actually their whole lives and abusing them for your own pride and entertainment??? No!

It definitely got better when the various plots, prophecies and timelines came together towards the end. I do feel like the action everything built up to was a little rushed, although I can kind of see why Morgenstern did this. That doesn't change that I would have loved this part to have been a little longer though.

I'd love to be able to see some of Bailey's circus to see how it has changed because while it was definitely a dark place for a while, the people who worked there still managed to make it something beautiful. He's definitely one of my favourite characters in this. I can only imagine what it could become when someone who loved the circus for its magic rather than seeing it as a competition field took over and became its caretaker and owner. The ending... That last part was so beautiful. (Now all I have to do is find this mysterious circus...)

I know this book is recommended a lot and I love it, but I can understand why others struggle with it. Be aware that this is a meandering walk through space and time (although in a magic way rather than a scifi one!) full of descriptive writing for most of it. You might enjoy this less if you need a lot of action to keep you engaged. There is action, but it takes quite some time to get there. But if you are the kind of reader who enjoys the journey to the climax, this might be the book for you!

Content Warnings

danajoy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

This book is all atmosphere. It paints a beautiful, magical world in black, white and splendour.

I just didn't completely buy everything. There was something slightly lacking for me with the characters. The main romance was instalove which I dont really care for and didn't buy into.

I found Marco more unsettling and sinister than I believe I was meant to. I always liked Celia more and when she doubted him frankly, I did too.
Sidenote though I did really like Bailey and Poppet, they were very sweet together.

It was a bit hard to follow the time jumps while consuming soley as an audiobook. I cared about the characters but not all that much.

I think this is a book to read for the vibes. The circus itself sounds really fascinating and I do believe it would adapt beautifully to the screen if they have the right team.

Content Warnings