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A review by thewordsdevourer
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I totally get why so many ppl love this book: it's original, unique, charming, a lil whimsy; it's all things that are considered 'pretty' all rolled into a volume of almost 400 pgs. As much as I wanted to also love it, however, The Night Circus wasn't totally for me.
I felt like the story had a lot of wasted or unexplored potential. You have a circus that traveled all over the world, yet the majority of the story took place in Europe and the U.S.; there was a lot that could've been explored in this respect, yet the opportunity was wasted. Furthermore, while the story's about the famed circus, it felt more like 'conversations about it and those that took place in it'; I personally felt the show-not-tell trick was really not utilized here. The book would've been a lot more interesting if we got to see how both Celia and Marco costructed their tents and creations, all the magic that was involved. Instead, readers were often transported to when all the fun bits were over, after the magic stuff was already done and we got to see only the results.
The challenge between Celia and Hector was also made to seem a lot more complex and serious than it actually was. For something that had deadly consequences and put the lives of so many involved, the reasoning behind the challenge and the workings of it were insufficient and frustratingly glossed over.
To sum up, my main issue is w/ the book's wasted opportunity at exploring its full, possibly-fantastic potential--a lot of fluff w/ no substance--but it's also balanced out by the fact that it's quite original and undeniably charming.
I felt like the story had a lot of wasted or unexplored potential. You have a circus that traveled all over the world, yet the majority of the story took place in Europe and the U.S.; there was a lot that could've been explored in this respect, yet the opportunity was wasted. Furthermore, while the story's about the famed circus, it felt more like 'conversations about it and those that took place in it'; I personally felt the show-not-tell trick was really not utilized here. The book would've been a lot more interesting if we got to see how both Celia and Marco costructed their tents and creations, all the magic that was involved. Instead, readers were often transported to when all the fun bits were over, after the magic stuff was already done and we got to see only the results.
The challenge between Celia and Hector was also made to seem a lot more complex and serious than it actually was. For something that had deadly consequences and put the lives of so many involved, the reasoning behind the challenge and the workings of it were insufficient and frustratingly glossed over.
To sum up, my main issue is w/ the book's wasted opportunity at exploring its full, possibly-fantastic potential--a lot of fluff w/ no substance--but it's also balanced out by the fact that it's quite original and undeniably charming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Murder and Death