The Night Circus

 

The Night Circus is the book for my August book club.  I was very excited to read this book because I heard great things, and the cover is amazing.  Yes, I do judge a book by its cover.  Designers spend lots of time working on those covers, so they should be rewarded.

Where do I even start?  The beginning I suppose.  

A young girl is dropped off at the room of a magician and told that she is his daughter.  Upon discovering her innate magically ability, he binds her to another magician and his unknown student in a dangerous competition.  The two students grow and learn without understanding what, when or where this competition will be.

Finally a venue is chosen.  A traveling circus that appears from nowhere and disappears just as quickly.  But they are not the only ones involved in the circus, as there are acrobats, a fortune teller, a contortionist and twins, born on opening night, amongst others.  Now, all of their fates are intertwined in a competition that long out lives the expectation and begins to take on its own life.  

For the sake of the circus and all those involved, even the spectators, the competition must somehow cease, but how can a competition end when there are few rules and an unknown goal?

The plot is thoroughly engaging, but every word brings you to the circus.  The tents are described so perfectly, the food is amazing, and all the spectacles become real to the reader.  Everyone that reads this will become a revuer, a circus groupie if you will, hunting down the circus and begging for more. 

There is so much involved in this book that it is hard to put into words, but it was fantastic.  The chapters are short which makes it perfect for busy readers, since you can start and finish a chapter in a short sitting.  Also, each chapter heading includes the date, so be sure to pay attention to this feature since the chapters do move freely in time.  I should have paid more attention to this as well because I felt a little lost sometimes.  

Overall, this was an excellent book club selection, especially for the summer.  While this isn't a fluffy beach read, it is engrossing, so if you are sitting out, be sure to wear your sunscreen otherwise you'll look up 200 pages later and be sunburnt.

Let me know what you thought of The Night Circus.  Follow me on Good Reads under Miss Tiffany, or on Twitter under misstiffreads.  Or, just comment!  

Happy Reading!