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A review by zwiame
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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
2.75
God I feel so bad for this rating. I wanted to love this so so so badly, after the way I absolutely fell in love with The Starless Sea, Morgenstern's second book.
Before I delve into what bothered me in the book, let's rapidly discuss the things that WERE done right (and that therefore justify the barely passing rating I gave this book).
The writing is this book's main quality. It isn't particularly complicated or overly adorned, but there's just something in Morgenstern's word choices, and in the way she describes mundane things, that appeals to your younger self and soothes you. Honestly, reading anything written by her is a pleasure.
The subject matter of the book is the other major thing I loved : the circus and the magic surrounding it, and generally speaking the whimsical world the author plunges us into, were lovely to explore.
Finally, the cast of characters was interesting enough, I could've really grown attached to them, but I didn't (for reasons I will explain in the second part of this review).
Unfortunately, this book had too many downsides to ignore.
The main one, for me, was the fact that it was nearly impossible to CARE. The emotional component of the book, though everpresent thematically, was never actually ellicited in me. I knew I should be emotional at times, yet the characters were so impossibly distant that I could barely be bothered to care (and I am a very emotional reader, so that says a lot). This was especially the case regarding the two main characters and their romance: Celia, and especially Marco, are barely known to us... I could not give you one personality trait of Marco's (and neither could Celia, if we're being honest: they barely know each other, and yet we're supposed to believe in their romance???). Same goes for Poppet and Bailey, though we do know more about Bailey, I must admit. Can't believe the author of The Starless Sea missed this badly on the characterisation part... Beyond disappointing. This is especially a pity because of the potential of many characters, like Tsukiko, Mr A.H, Hector Bowen, Thiessen, etc.
Secondly, I understand this book relies on vibes only (and I don't mind these types of slow-paced, uneventful books), but this book almost lacked a story. For something that relies on a magical competition between two people bound by fate, this book focused almost barely on the circus, and more on random shit happening around. I wouldn't have minded this if it was well done, and gave us a broader picture of the circus to better immerse us into the story, but it did the exact opposite: it diluted the main plotline, yet left us wanting from the adjacent plotlines, so that I felt cheated by the end of the book, unsatisfied regarding all the stories and not involved in any character's future.
This two critiques being related to core, essential elements of fiction (characterisation and story-telling), I can't possibly say I woud recommend this book to anyone.
I do, however, recognise the soothing quality that this book can have, and the wonderful writing capabilities Morgenstern has, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading a book by her in the future, seeing how The Starless Sea struck (and stuck with) me.
On a different note, I feel like writers whose prose is stellar (like Erin Morgenstern and Madeline Miller) only find their footing in terms of story-telling as a whole in their sophomore work, i.e. The Starless Sea and Circe (or maybe it's just a personal preference). Either way, if this theory works for me, I'm excited to read Ocean Vuong's second novel, because the first certainly disappointed me (though the writing was excellent).
Before I delve into what bothered me in the book, let's rapidly discuss the things that WERE done right (and that therefore justify the barely passing rating I gave this book).
The writing is this book's main quality. It isn't particularly complicated or overly adorned, but there's just something in Morgenstern's word choices, and in the way she describes mundane things, that appeals to your younger self and soothes you. Honestly, reading anything written by her is a pleasure.
The subject matter of the book is the other major thing I loved : the circus and the magic surrounding it, and generally speaking the whimsical world the author plunges us into, were lovely to explore.
Finally, the cast of characters was interesting enough, I could've really grown attached to them, but I didn't (for reasons I will explain in the second part of this review).
Unfortunately, this book had too many downsides to ignore.
The main one, for me, was the fact that it was nearly impossible to CARE. The emotional component of the book, though everpresent thematically, was never actually ellicited in me. I knew I should be emotional at times, yet the characters were so impossibly distant that I could barely be bothered to care (and I am a very emotional reader, so that says a lot). This was especially the case regarding the two main characters and their romance: Celia, and especially Marco, are barely known to us... I could not give you one personality trait of Marco's (and neither could Celia, if we're being honest: they barely know each other, and yet we're supposed to believe in their romance???). Same goes for Poppet and Bailey, though we do know more about Bailey, I must admit. Can't believe the author of The Starless Sea missed this badly on the characterisation part... Beyond disappointing. This is especially a pity because of the potential of many characters, like Tsukiko, Mr A.H, Hector Bowen, Thiessen, etc.
Secondly, I understand this book relies on vibes only (and I don't mind these types of slow-paced, uneventful books), but this book almost lacked a story. For something that relies on a magical competition between two people bound by fate, this book focused almost barely on the circus, and more on random shit happening around. I wouldn't have minded this if it was well done, and gave us a broader picture of the circus to better immerse us into the story, but it did the exact opposite: it diluted the main plotline, yet left us wanting from the adjacent plotlines, so that I felt cheated by the end of the book, unsatisfied regarding all the stories and not involved in any character's future.
This two critiques being related to core, essential elements of fiction (characterisation and story-telling), I can't possibly say I woud recommend this book to anyone.
I do, however, recognise the soothing quality that this book can have, and the wonderful writing capabilities Morgenstern has, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading a book by her in the future, seeing how The Starless Sea struck (and stuck with) me.
On a different note, I feel like writers whose prose is stellar (like Erin Morgenstern and Madeline Miller) only find their footing in terms of story-telling as a whole in their sophomore work, i.e. The Starless Sea and Circe (or maybe it's just a personal preference). Either way, if this theory works for me, I'm excited to read Ocean Vuong's second novel, because the first certainly disappointed me (though the writing was excellent).