The Night Circus

First paragraph:

"The man billed as Prospero the Enchanter receives a fair amount of correspondence via the theater office, but this is the first envelope addressed to him that contains a suicide note, and is also the first to arrive carefully pinned to the coat of a five-year-old girl."

I have spent the last 29 days immersed in the world of the circus.
It only took me about 10 days to read the book but I have watched circus movies and basically thought about the book for at least 29 days.
I knew from the very first sentence that I was going to adore and devour this book. Someone said it was a magic lovers dream come true and I totally agree.

I loved this book and imagined the world in a black and white and gray watercolor with splotches of red.
The Dickens' era where futures were told by mysterious ladies.




The revers' men in their charcoal gray or black suits with their bowler hats and red scarves running to catch the trains to take to them to whatever location the circus is headed to next. The women in their black coats and boots and umbrellas with a shock of crimson lipstick or ruby red earrings.
My kitchen has been filled with the scents of caramel and cinnamon and popcorn every weekend and I have wished that I could build a bon fire in my backyard and turn on the bistro lights and listen to the audio of this
book on the speakers. (It would be perfect in the Fall-I just may do that)


This is most definitely a book about the senses and the atmosphere is completely set for you.
It is beautifully written, bittersweet and wonderful and cruel all at the same time. The relationships are complicated and heartbreaking, Deep and strange. Magic verses illusion. Forbidden love and mystery. So good....
In the black and white and gray world, once you enter the circus, the colors are so vivid and ever changing. It reminds me of those black and white photos that have parts of them colored like flushed cheeks and a red balloon. The descriptions are intense. Especially the food. I think that was my favorite part. The midnight dinners that consisted of 12 courses.
I loved the deep meaning behind all the tents and that each new tent built was a new layer in the relationship between Marco and Celia.



My favorites were:
The Pool of Tears that Marco built for Celia to have a place to express her emotions in private:
The Stargazer that allowed Poppet to read the stars and see the future:
The Room of Bottles

where each bottle told one of Widgets stories and my very favorite was The Wishing Tree heavy with candles that Marco built where you would light a candle from the flame of an existing candle to protect everyones wishes.

Love, love, love it! Wish I could read it again for the first time.

                                
I give this book 5.0 stars

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Cindy's Review:


So Ali and I both loved The Night Circus. We each would give it 4 stars. We both were so engrossed with it that we read it quickly.  We loved the imagery and details the author used.  The author used great detail in not only describing the tents and visual details, but the smells also.  In the beginning it was bothersome that the chapters jumped around but eventually that made sense.
It was entertaining, intriguing, and visually stimulating.  A great read!!!!