Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Night Circus

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

48 reviews

richelleski's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I really wanted to love these characters but they fell flat to me, even Celia, who we’ve now spent so much time with, feels unknowable. It’s more a feast for the imagination, with gratuitous descriptions of each magical tent and the experience of taking in the circus, but even in the end, I feel disconnected from the characters. Perhaps that’s intentional?

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kelseydaffodil's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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paintedthree's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Looking back I did enjoy this book, but it is incredibly slow going. I had to pause reading it several times as the plot did not go anywhere until the second half of the book. The ending is good though, it ties everything together and the story feels complete. Unsure whether it balances out the incredibly slow pace, however.

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tahsintries's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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elna17a9a's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I was excited to read this, after hearing it being recommended everywhere. And it almost delivered - there was definitely a sense of mystery and magic, and Morgenstern's writing is lovely.

But it's very very slow, and loves to take all kinds of detours and meander around. Which is not really for me. I feel nothing about the love between Celia and Marco, there are no real stakes to the competition (and no real competition?? seriously, nothing remotely resembling a high stakes fight to the death competition occurs), and the time jumps/mixed narrative added nothing at all and made read needlessly confusing. Side characters (and main characters) are stiff as cardboard, with no real development or interest.

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