Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

In college, I had a dual major: English and Writing. Being an English major means you read LOTS of books. TONS of books. In fact, I wish they would refer to the degree as Literature, because that's really what's it's all about. (Also, try explaining to non-Americans that you're studying "English" at university. They'll look at you like you have three heads with no brains in any of them and you'll imagine their thoughts to be something like, "Stupid American. Shouldn't you already know English?!" Been there, said that, and now I refer to my degree at Literature most often... but I digress!)

The thousands upon thousands of pages I read in college consisted mostly of the classics with a few moderns and contemporaries sprinkled in. These days, I lean more toward popular fiction (think books on the NY Times Best Seller List) with a few classics and non-fictions sprinkled in to make myself think a little. What hasn't changed is that I still read a lot: around one novel per week. When I feel like I'm reading too much popular fiction, I turn to something more highly regarded to break it up and keep my credibility (ha!). Occasionally, I'll also divulge into a genre I refer to as "trash fiction" and wind up feeling embarrassed about it.

As for books I've read in the past few years since I graduated college... there are too many to list, but here are a few of my favorites:

Adult Fiction: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series by Stieg Larsson, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, The Poisonwood BibleDrowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Sarah's Key by Tatiana Rosnay, The Kite Runner by Barbara Kingslover, y Khaled Hosseini

Youth Fiction: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

Non-fiction: The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Trash fiction: All of the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books by Charlaine Harris

And the latest book I finished? The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

 

This is Erin's debut novel and it's definately a fun, magical fantasy. The story takes place in black and white tents of Le Cirque des Reves, a circus that arrives without warning, simply appearing when yesterday it was not there. Young illusionists Celia and Marco have been cast into a rivalry at the circus, one arranged long ago by powers they do not fully understand. Over time, their lives become more intricately enmeshed in a dance of love, joy, deceit, heartbreak, and magic.

The plot is great. It's engaging and I often didn't want to put the book down. Throw a little love story into the mix, and I'm there. The descriptions of the circus itself were magical. That said, I felt like I was reading someone's first novel, which for me was a disappointment. The book itself is fragmented into chapters using a few characters' voices (including the character "you," which I don't care for), which would have been fine if I didn't get so confused on the time line so often. There were many times when I consciously thought, "Can't that be said a little better?" The language was very basic.

Overlooking the negative, I'd still recommend this book. The plot trumps any faults. Also, I can see this book making a really cool looking movie...