"This book was beautifully executed and wonderfully imaginative." - Miss Remmers Release Date: Sept 2011
Publisher: Doubleday
Challenges: Audiobook Challenge, DAC 2011, 100+ Reading Challenge
"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead."
Like many others, I picked up "The Night Circus" because someone related it to Harry Potter and "the next big thing." As the first couple chapters progressed, I reminded myself that this would be "like" Harry Potter and I don't think I stopped that comparison until two thirds of the way through the book. In my opinion, "The Night Circus" is very little like Harry Potter. The narrator is fantastic and with his accent it sort of sounds like Harry Potter. The language is beautifully descriptive and the story is flawlessly wound like Harry Potter. But other than that, I'd say this book is in a category of it's own.
"The Night Circus" was a fantastic audiobook but because I didn't know anything about the plot other than it was Harry Potter-esque, I really didn't know where this story was headed. It was hard to hear the changes in perspective and the different plot lines and smaller pre-chapters.
This audio made walking the dog go by so much faster, even in the -15 degree weather! I never really craved caramel like other readers (and I eventually noticed how the caramel smell was almost continually brought up) but I could see the colors (or lack there of) and I could imagine the whole plot playing out.
Overall, this book was beautifully executed and wonderfully imaginative.
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Great review! I just borrowed this from the library, and I'm so looking forward to reading it! Partly because of that Harry Potter comparison, and partly because it sounds like such a cool concept.
ReplyDeleteI believe that I heard that it actually is Jim Dale (of HP fame) who narrates.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was beautifully executed. I watched an interview of the author, Erin Morgenstern, who does not relate her novel to that of Harry Potter. I think this idea comes from the publicity department in that it is thought to be the next big thing, popular as unto Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, The Night Circus was a delightful read for me!
It was a fun read and I am really anxious to see what they do with it as a movie!
ReplyDelete