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A review by pgmoon
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
3.0
This might be a weird statement to start a review but I'll say it: My mom loves the fireworks shows at Disney World. The ones that happen right before the park closes. And to a certain extent, I do too. They're masterfully created, and artfully displayed. The craftsmanship that goes into making the fireworks and adjusting them to make beautiful patterns to music should be applauded. However, that's all they are: fireworks, and they fade fairly quickly. That's what a good portion of The Night Circus felt like to me.
First the positives: Erin Morgenstern is a master at atmosphere. You truly learn so much about the circus and the aesthetics of the book are crystal clear in my mind. Additionally, some of the lines in this book are incredibly profound. However, it feels like she added all this detail and neglected the other aspects of the book.
I don't care for either Celia or Marco as protagonists. A lot of this story hinges on you finding them interesting, as the plot centers around their "rivalry" and "romance". I'm sorry to say they feel one-dimensional because don't really get to hear about their flaws. Any characterization about them is through the bet made by their mentors and how the circus operates, which doesn't get explained. I understand that this is to create a mysterious mood, but without this knowledge, we know virtually nothing about the leads. This is compounded by their relationship; good romantic subplots often will have the characters involved grow as the story progresses. Celia and Marco simply don't get enough time together for the audience to understand why they like each other. Therefore, at the end of the book, when we have some of the most beautiful passages about love, it rings hollow. The other characters are not much better (Tsukiko is such a last minute, confusing villian, Isobel is essentially a plot device), save Bailey and Poppet. They read as much better leads, considering they seem more intertwined with the actual circus.
Because the characters are lacking, this character-driven story falls flat. The switching back and forth from perspective made me confused during many chapters, and I felt the sections where the reader explores the circus (bar the last one) were unnecessary. So much of the story I could not understand - I'm not sure how or why the climax of the story happened and the magic system confused me. So much of this made it a slug to get through. I believe readers would have better luck listening to this as an audiobook.
The Night Circus seems like a fairly polarizing book, and I can understand why people debate this book a lot. Its imagery and prose is unmatched, but for me, it's hard to enjoy because you aren't invested in the plot or characters, often boring and nonsensical. I was very excited going into this, and others who are more inclined to imagery will probably disagree with me, but this was a huge letdown.
First the positives: Erin Morgenstern is a master at atmosphere. You truly learn so much about the circus and the aesthetics of the book are crystal clear in my mind. Additionally, some of the lines in this book are incredibly profound. However, it feels like she added all this detail and neglected the other aspects of the book.
I don't care for either Celia or Marco as protagonists. A lot of this story hinges on you finding them interesting, as the plot centers around their "rivalry" and "romance". I'm sorry to say they feel one-dimensional because don't really get to hear about their flaws. Any characterization about them is through the bet made by their mentors and how the circus operates, which doesn't get explained. I understand that this is to create a mysterious mood, but without this knowledge, we know virtually nothing about the leads. This is compounded by their relationship; good romantic subplots often will have the characters involved grow as the story progresses. Celia and Marco simply don't get enough time together for the audience to understand why they like each other. Therefore, at the end of the book, when we have some of the most beautiful passages about love, it rings hollow. The other characters are not much better (Tsukiko is such a last minute, confusing villian, Isobel is essentially a plot device), save Bailey and Poppet. They read as much better leads, considering they seem more intertwined with the actual circus.
Because the characters are lacking, this character-driven story falls flat. The switching back and forth from perspective made me confused during many chapters, and I felt the sections where the reader explores the circus (bar the last one) were unnecessary. So much of the story I could not understand - I'm not sure how or why the climax of the story happened and the magic system confused me. So much of this made it a slug to get through. I believe readers would have better luck listening to this as an audiobook.
The Night Circus seems like a fairly polarizing book, and I can understand why people debate this book a lot. Its imagery and prose is unmatched, but for me, it's hard to enjoy because you aren't invested in the plot or characters, often boring and nonsensical. I was very excited going into this, and others who are more inclined to imagery will probably disagree with me, but this was a huge letdown.