The Night Circus
2011
- fiction
- magicians
- circus
- games
- circus performers
- nyt:hardcover_fiction=2011-12-24
- psychokinesis
- magic
- fate and fatalism
- roman
The story
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart. - Publisher.
What it’s like
Lush, candlelit prose that lingers on the senses: black-and-white striped tents glowing against a night sky, clouds of sugared smoke, bell-glass gardens, moonlit snow, and the warm hum of a room that brightens whenever two people touch. The voice is ornate and dreamy, with long descriptive passages that slow the reader to a crawl, so the book suits a slow evening with a cup of tea, a rainy weekend, or a quiet stretch of time set aside for immersion. Its mood is wistful and enchanted, with a tender romantic ache running beneath the spectacle, and its pacing is leisurely, letting scenes of wonder unfold before the tension tightens. The emotional arc follows two rivals who slowly and reluctantly fall into love while bound to a contest neither fully understands. Violence is absent; danger is mostly implied through the threat of the game and the fragility of those caught in it, and the romance is sensual but restrained. It is gentle, atmospheric fantasy for readers who want to be enchanted by imagery, romance, and a sense of fate hanging in the air.
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