Tolog Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
reviewed by Lauren Yeh

Exceptional. Amazing. Marvelous. The Night Circus, written by Erin Morgenstern, is about Le Cirque des Rêves, a traveling, magical, mysterious circus that is only open at night. This circus can only be described in one word. Magical. But this novel is not only about sensational experiences at the circus. The circus actually conceals something even greater: a competition between two magicians, Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair. Both of these enchanters have been preparing their whole life for this battle, and there can only be one winner. As the magicians take turns trying to one-up each other with dynamic circus tents, whether it be a garden made of ice, or a merry-go-round with live animals, they somehow find a connection, and begin to fall in love. Their affiliation soon becomes a danger to those in the circus, and everything becomes imbalanced. What are they going to do?

I found this novel unpredictable and extraordinary. Like the competition between Celia and Marco, you do not know what is going to happen next, yet you’re very anxious to find out. Morgenstern gives me a whole new look on circuses with the vivid details that encourage the reader to explore the creative side. The structure of this novel was also written in a clever way. I like how Morgenstern created shifting point of views of the characters including Celia, Marco, and Bailey, and they had a common tie with one another. The points of view of the characters give us a better look at the parts the character plays in the novel. 

A message that I got from Morgenstern is that sometimes, we are put into an inevitable position that we do not want to be in. What we choose to do in that position is up to us. We can either stay in that uncomfortable position, or we can fight for what we want, and find true happiness. She delivers this message through Celia, and it is evident on what Celia wants to do.