The Night Circus – by Erin Morgenstern

Wow! I am so excited to tell you all about The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which is due to be released in September.  It’s a fiction novel about a mysterious black-and-white circus which appears quite literally out of nowhere, and is only open after sunset.  Those who enter the circus are treated to amazing feats of acrobatics, illusion, and more – but it’s only a well-oiled performance, right?  Wrong.  Unbeknownst to almost everybody (including the incredible cast of performers involved in the circus), The Night Circus is an elaborate cover for a legendary battle between two young magicians pitted against each other in an agreement made without their knowledge or cooperation.  But when the young magicians fall in love, their masters take matters into their own hands, with dangerous consequences for everyone involved.

I have to say that I really loved this book. Reading is one of my favorite ways to pass the time, but I don’t have a lot of time to pass, so I really appreciate a good book when I can find one.  I was instantly drawn into Morgenstern’s dreamlike and sometimes dark plot, and the only part of the book that disappointed was the fact that it had to end sometime.  For me, this book was like an amazing dessert that you hide in the back of the refrigerator until the kids are in bed and you can enjoy it all by yourself, in peace and in solitude.  I set aside an hour each day to read The Night Circus, and I looked forward to that hour all day long.  When the time finally came to put on my pj’s and open the book, I was immediately lost in the world of the night circus; and it was always disappointing when the time came to put it down.

Every once in awhile, a fiction novel comes along that is so engaging, and so beautifully written, that it reaches out and touches the reader’s heart- The Night Circus is one of those stories.  Morgenstern has developed characters that seem completely alive and real, even as they accomplish impossible feats of magic and premonition.  Although the book is clearly based in fantasy, I would hesitate to call it a fantasy novel.  It’s a love story, and a the history of a circus that, for all we know, may appear in the fields outside of town at any moment.