The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
- sweetpea
- Posts: 65
- Joined: 02 Jan 2012, 18:06
- Favorite Book: Miss Peregrines Home 4 Peculiar Children
- Currently Reading: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
- Bookshelf Size: 0
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
The descriptions of the circus were very beautifully written. Morgenstern uses all of your senses and you can almost smell the secents and hear the sounds for yourself. "You can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze beneath the crisp scent of autumn leaves", "Small lights begin to flicker as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies". Though the descriptions are beautifully written their sheer lenght almost grinds the story to a halt. At some points I found myself reading the descriptions and not being interested in them, instead wanting to skip them and find out what was happening next.
I found the first half of the book quite slow paced but the pace of the story picks up substantially towards the second half of the book and it becomes a lot more exciting. The characters now know what it is they need to do and set about doing it.
The book for me is really split into two. I found the first half difficult to get through but enjoyed the second half. Overall I thought it was quite enjoyable.
- Gannon
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 14464
- Joined: 17 May 2009, 01:48
- Favorite Book: Pillars of the Earth
- Currently Reading: Heaven's Net is Wide.
- Bookshelf Size: 52
Hi there sweetpea, "The Night Circus" was easily my favourite read of 2011, even though I read it in early 2012. I think that the chapters not being written in a linear time line is a great idea. I also found myself going back to previous chapters to check things out. By doing this I came to enjoy the story more.sweetpea wrote:I found the fact that the book wasn’t written in a linear time line a bit confusing and had to keep going back to check what year something happened and was it before or after what I’m reading now. At times it became slightly frustrating.
The descriptions of the circus were very beautifully written. Morgenstern uses all of your senses and you can almost smell the secents and hear the sounds for yourself. "You can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze beneath the crisp scent of autumn leaves", "Small lights begin to flicker as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies". Though the descriptions are beautifully written their sheer lenght almost grinds the story to a halt. At some points I found myself reading the descriptions and not being interested in them, instead wanting to skip them and find out what was happening next.
I found the first half of the book quite slow paced but the pace of the story picks up substantially towards the second half of the book and it becomes a lot more exciting. The characters now know what it is they need to do and set about doing it.
The book for me is really split into two. I found the first half difficult to get through but enjoyed the second half. Overall I thought it was quite enjoyable.
I also agree with you that Morgenstern's writing is beautifully descriptive and you do get the feeling you are there with all the smells and sights and sounds.
I love how many times in between chapters there are short passages that describe parts of the circus as if you were wandering around the circus itself, these passages add greatly to the description of the circus.
I think it is a great idea in the beginning that both the main characters do not know what is going on and what is expected of them. This adds immensely to the suspense as they slowly figure it out as the novel goes on.
I cannot wait for her next book, If it is as good as her debut, I can see her becoming one of my favourite writers.
- victoriaaa
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 17 Feb 2012, 07:40
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Carrie R
- Posts: 320
- Joined: 28 Sep 2012, 20:28
- Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... d=19706">A Fine Balance</a>
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 27
- Signature Addition: View official OnlineBookClub.org review of Eating Bull
Review of The Seneca Scourge - Previous book of the month!
- kelleys4girls
- Posts: 36
- Joined: 02 Jan 2013, 16:14
- Bookshelf Size: 0
-
- Posts: 219
- Joined: 26 Jan 2013, 14:47
- Bookshelf Size: 18
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-anaf.html
- Latest Review: "Deadly Secrets" by Robert Boris Riskin
I read it last year and it become one of my favorites books for 2012. I had never read a book set in a circus, so it was a really nice change for me and I also liked the fact that even though there was a romance going on it didn't focus too much on that and allowed the reader to know more about the circus and "explore" it
- ShoppingMonk
- Posts: 36
- Joined: 24 Nov 2012, 04:32
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Kimber945
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 07 Mar 2013, 15:31
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kimber945.html
- MirageMe
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 09 Mar 2013, 01:33
- Bookshelf Size: 0
I was drawn in from the very first line.
"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not."
From that very first line it was like being swept away into a beautiful, magical, enchanting adventure...
- -pbf
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 18 Jun 2013, 16:06
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-pbf.html
- Carrie R
- Posts: 320
- Joined: 28 Sep 2012, 20:28
- Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... d=19706">A Fine Balance</a>
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 27
- Signature Addition: View official OnlineBookClub.org review of Eating Bull
I recently finished this novel, and I agree. The descriptions fueled the story. It was unlike any other book I've read recently, and I really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would.-pbf wrote:It all seemed so magical and mysterious, and I feel like every detail was necessary to create the fantastic atmosphere of the circus.
Review of The Seneca Scourge - Previous book of the month!
- fiorabelle
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 04:08
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fiorabelle.html
-
- Posts: 37
- Joined: 11 Aug 2014, 11:18
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jovanovi.html
- polindsay
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 17 Aug 2014, 18:20
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-polindsay.html
-
- Posts: 18
- Joined: 24 Aug 2014, 15:07
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-salma-siddiqui.html