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A review by galacticvampire
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
"People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see."
This quote, originally about the inworkings of the circus and the magic system, sums up pretty well how I feel about this book. All the hype around it is about how well crafted it is and the magical setting and the beautiful atmosphere. And here I am like "but. Can't you see that it's just going round and round and nothing else happens?" There's no denying that no matter how lively the carrousel, it never leads you anywhere but in circles.
And it is lively. The tastes, the smells, the tents, the attractions. I could picture every star and every snowflake with beautiful precision, wanted to experience the magic and feel the heat of the bonfire. But caramel popcorn only does so much.
I am not inherently against plotless books. Mechanique, another book about a magical circus that was released in 2011, also doesn't have much of a story; but the author is aware of it. It relies deeply on intricated character studies and interwoven themes. The climax by the end is just a punch of action to hammer the argument it was making all along. I gave it five stars.
None of this happens in The Night Circus. The author wants to pretend really hard that there's this complex plot of competition and whatnot but really I can't tell what message the book was trying to convey. There's never an inch of antagonism or urgency or even rivalry, and the secondary characters that had so much potential feel more like props for the circus tents than actual people. It builds and builds but the payoff never happens.
Erin Morgenstern is an incredible writer, and had she put her cards more on exploring what is the circus and what it means to be part of it, The Night Circus would be truly mesmerizing.
And it is lively. The tastes, the smells, the tents, the attractions. I could picture every star and every snowflake with beautiful precision, wanted to experience the magic and feel the heat of the bonfire. But caramel popcorn only does so much.
I am not inherently against plotless books. Mechanique, another book about a magical circus that was released in 2011, also doesn't have much of a story; but the author is aware of it. It relies deeply on intricated character studies and interwoven themes. The climax by the end is just a punch of action to hammer the argument it was making all along. I gave it five stars.
None of this happens in The Night Circus. The author wants to pretend really hard that there's this complex plot of competition and whatnot but really I can't tell what message the book was trying to convey. There's never an inch of antagonism or urgency or even rivalry, and the secondary characters that had so much potential feel more like props for the circus tents than actual people. It builds and builds but the payoff never happens.
Erin Morgenstern is an incredible writer, and had she put her cards more on exploring what is the circus and what it means to be part of it, The Night Circus would be truly mesmerizing.