Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus is a standalone novel.
It takes place between 1873 and 1903 and involves two timelines. One timeline tells a story of a dreamer who is enchanted by the mysterious Le Cirque des Rêves, a circus that only opens at night. The other timeline tells a story of magic. Two talented magicians are forced to partake in a duel orchestrated by their respective masters. Only two facts are certain in this competition. One requires that the competition must take place at Le Cirque des Rêves. The other states that the contest can only end once a victor has been decided.
Celia Bowen is the first of the three protagonists the story centers around. At the age of six, Celia's mother died and she was given to her father, Prospero the Enchanter. She is trained in the arts of manipulating the physical world around her and bound to the competition before she knew it existed. Celia is both intelligent and clever as well as being as skilled magician. Despite her bold and outspoken temper, she is generally reserved. Marco Alisdair is the second of three protagonists. Marco is taken from an orphanage and put under the custody of a man notorious for wearing the color gray. He is trained in more subtle areas of magic that slightly differ from Celia’s abilities. While he is normally seen as a quiet and reserved character, Marco can be quite headstrong and cares for those around him. The final protagonist is Bailey Clarke. Bailey is a young boy who grew up on a mundane farm. He visited the Le Cirque des Rêves as a child and became enchanted by it. Bailey obsesses over fantastical stories and dreams for something more in his life.
The Night Circus is a beautifully written tale. It weaves the lives of three different people to together in an elegant and seamless way so that one person’s story couldn’t have existed without the other. The mysterious setting of Le Cirque des Rêves provides an enchanting backdrop for the captivating story. At first, the plot seems to rely on suspense and mystery. As more is revealed, the story becomes far more enthralling. The multiple perspectives give the story a more complete picture of the plot and Le Cirque des Rêves. Erin Morgenstern beautifully describes the wonder and allure of the circus that ties the plot together. I give this 512 page book 5 stars.