Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

219 reviews

thestarryshelves's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Night Circus is a dreamy, atmospheric novel that left me longing for a bit more depth of the plot.

The vibes of the book are immaculate. The highlights of this book were the multiple immersive settings were painted in such a lush way. The circus, of course, was the center of the focus of the detail, but I also enjoyed the Midnight Dinners and the clockmaker's workshop. I find that many settings are built through visual descriptions alone, but this novel was made of smells, tastes, sounds, and feelings. I found the first third of the book enchanting as I encountered this world for the first time, but the novelty eventually wore off.

While the setting was wonderful, the other aspects fell short. Both the characters and the plot are originally shrouded in mystery. As the book progressed and all was unveiled, I found myself uninvested emotionally. Even at the point of the narrative's climax, I was somewhat disengaged. The book's resolution was nice (if a little dogmatic), but ultimately felt hastily constructed - and, like the rest of the narrative, an afterthought to the ambiance.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

temi1008's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Death

Minor: Death of parent and Suicide

gothcoraline's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

a decadent read, dripping with magic and mystery. i could not put this book down and have reread many times. the descriptions are so real i feel like i am in the circus, i can smell the kettle corn, i can taste the caramel apples, i can see the london buildings rising up around me. erin morgenstern enthralled me with this book. if i could give a book 6 stars, i would 🤍🎪🖤🎪🤍

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

ninahuynh's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

5.0

If you enjoy multiple storylines and interconnected plots, this is the book for you. Every character has their own breath and life. The jumping in timeline is a bit confusing, moreso since I listened to it. That ending was not how I expected it to end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content

strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This book kept me company during a three-day power outage. As someone who doesn't typically gravitate towards historical stories, fantasy, or historical fantasy, this is a solid book. I didn't totally understand what was happening until the last quarter of the book, and it took some effort to keep track of all the events, but I was attached enough to this book that I was sad to finish it, and I hope to reread it at some point. I grew very fond of the characters and how they connected with each other, and I really liked the author's prose; immersive, but not needlessly flowery. A fun, emotional, gothic time, and definitely a rainy day read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty

There's a very brief, nondescriptive sex scene between Marco and Celia. By no means spicy.

While growing up with Hector, Celia is subjected to various forms of violence, like having her fingertips cut open and her bones broken. He sort of haunts her as an adult (hard to explain), and slut-shames her at one point. Hector snaps a bird's neck, expecting Celia to heal it. A cat in one of the circus acts falls to the ground, but it's assumed that the cat is fine.

Two characters in the narrative die. One is run over by a train. It's very brief and not graphic. One is mistakenly stabbed by a flying dagger, and they spend some time describing the scene of the murder. Blood is about as bad as it gets, but it's quite sad.

adyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Beautiful book, the imagery and magic of it all was stellar. I wanted to read it during a blizzard while listening to haunting classical music. It’s not 5 stars for me because the characters weren’t particularly compelling, and that’s what I value most in a book. 

But I don’t think this book was meant to have super deep character development. I think it was meant to sweep you off your feet with magic, to parallel the experience of visiting Le Cirques de Rêves. And it does that excellently. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Addiction

tays_books's review

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Alcohol, Murder, and Self harm

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Death of parent

readingduckling's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book so much, and I'm so happy to have joined the Storygraph readalong because that finally got me to reading that book. 
And I would actually recommend going into that book completely blind, that's what I did and I think that enhanced my reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

filipacmiranda's review against another edition

4.0

If my analyses of The Night Circus focused exclusively on its main storyline (the competition between the main characters in and outside the circus), it would get a lower rating. Out of all the aspects of the story, the competition is the one that less matched my expectations. It was always poorly defined and developing in the background. Despite believing this was intentional, it also made me feel less invested and care less about the outcome. The only reason I paid attention to this aspect of the story was to try to predict what the characters’ futures held. 

 

On the other hand, I consider this book to mainly be about circus life and how the relationships between the characters came to be. In that sense, it is undoubtedly stunning… The writing is highly descriptive and engaging, one of the strengths of this narrative. I was fascinated by the parts in which Morgenstern assumes the reader’s perspective and describes the spaces and tents that compose Le Cirque des Rêves. 

 

Finally, the fact that the story is told in two distinct timelines adds some suspense and works as an engine for the plot’s appeal. It generates expectation as the reader gathers the bits and pieces that allow them to understand how the story ends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death

Moderate: Blood and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent

vhispas's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Suicide