Review
Rated Best Debut of 2011 by BookBrowse Members
24 BookBrowse members read The Night Circus
, giving it an overall rating of 4.9 out of 5.0 - our highest rating ever for a First Impression book (out of more than 350 books reviewed to date)! Here's what they have to say:
Thank you to Ms. Morgenstern for reminding me why I am a reader (Debbie V)! A tender love story, a dark and devious competition, and a stage for a myriad of actors and characters, this circular novel pulls the reader in thrall and captures the imagination (Carole C). I find myself staring into space remembering parts of this wonderful book and not wanting to come back (Arleen L).
Some readers adored Morgenstern's resplendent style:
The prose is beautiful but not too simplistic, the fantasy images are easily understood and vivid - almost real. The descriptive...
Beyond the Book
The use of magical motifs in Erin Morgenstern's debut novel,
The Night Circus, helps make it a unique and fascinating read.
But the literary device is by no means new. Magic can be found in some of the oldest, most revered pieces of literature throughout history, as in William Shakespeare's
The Tempest. In fact, his play served as an inspiration for Morgenstern's novel.
In
The Night Circus, Prospero the Enchanter maintains a magical persona and attempts to control his daughter's life, much like his namesake in
The Tempest, who has the ability to call on spirits and charm...
