A review by theaceofpages
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm so happy that got to relive the magic again after so many years. The last time was back in school and I actually did an artwork inspired that striped cover page (well actually two since our end of year project had to incorporate elements of other works we'd done over the year and those stripes were a great way of connecting things!). 

I'd definitely forgotten a lot of what happened! While it wasn't quite the same as reading it for the first time, it was still such a great experience. The writing is just as beautiful as I remember it being. I loved the mysterious tranquillity of the circus. And the clock! I love the clock. Being able to explore some of what it contains was definitely my favourite part of this book! I will say that, like last time, I found keeping track of all the characters was a little confusing, although it was better this time around. (also, a side note here. The original adults are terrible! I had forgotten or maybe didn't even realise the first time just how bad they are...
I mean, essentially sacrificing kids, stealing their childhood and actually their whole lives and abusing them for your own pride and entertainment??? No!
It definitely got better when the various plots, prophecies and timelines came together towards the end. I do feel like the action everything built up to was a little rushed, although I can kind of see why Morgenstern did this. That doesn't change that I would have loved this part to have been a little longer though.

I'd love to be able to see some of Bailey's circus to see how it has changed because while it was definitely a dark place for a while, the people who worked there still managed to make it something beautiful. He's definitely one of my favourite characters in this. I can only imagine what it could become when someone who loved the circus for its magic rather than seeing it as a competition field took over and became its caretaker and owner.  The ending... That last part was so beautiful. (Now all I have to do is find this mysterious circus...)

I know this book is recommended a lot and I love it, but I can understand why others struggle with it. Be aware that this is a meandering walk through space and time (although in a magic way rather than a scifi one!) full of descriptive writing for most of it. You might enjoy this less if you need a lot of action to keep you engaged. There is action, but it takes quite some time to get there. But if you are the kind of reader who enjoys the journey to the climax, this might be the book for you!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings