The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus is a 2011 book written by Erin Morgenstern, and tells the story of two young magicians forced into a competition by their mentors to settle a long outstanding disagreement. The playing board for the challenge is the Le Cirque des Rêves and it's black-and white striped canvas tents, filled with unique and amazing experiences. But as the two magicians fall in love, there are tragic consequences and an ending neither mentor would have wished for.
I'd heard a lot of good reviews about this book before I bought it, and I was told in good faith by my best friend that I would fall in love with it. When I first started reading, I didn't believe him. The book was very slow to start and I couldn't quite figure out how everything fit together. There's a lot of jumping around to different times and different people's view points which took some getting used to, but when the challenge finally got going, it didn't disappoint.
I loved the feeling of being transported to this completely different world of the circus, where every time you visited something different happened. The idea that a place so magical could exist in such a normal world was incredible and had me hooked. The description of some of the tents really made it feel like you were experiencing the circus first hand.
The range of different personalities and relationships between the characters in the books, made the experience ever so more realistic. You felt very involved in everything that was going on, felt the pain, the love and the laughter when each of the characters did. There's a wide range of people to connect to, and a group called the Rêveurs which every lover of this book would class themselves as part of.
In my opinion, the book ended with the best ending it could. I don't want to spoil it, but if the ending had been different I'm not sure I'd be as in love with the book as I am.
After a quick google, I've read that the rights to the film have been bought and the script being written. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the magic will be kept throughout the film, as it's a great book that I don't want to get ruined.
If you like magic, and fantasy this book shouldn't disappoint. It does completely transport you somewhere else, just give it time to get to the good bit.
Rating: 9/10. Slow to start but had me falling in love with it towards the end.
