The Night Circusby Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives at night, without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within nocturnal black and white striped tents awaits a unique experience, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stand awestruck as a tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and gaze in wonderment at an illusionist performing impossible feats of magic.Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves. Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is underway--a contest between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in "a game," in which each must use their powers of illusion to best the other. Unbeknownst to them, this game is a duel to the death, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. (goodreads.com)

I am sure you have all seen this book pop up all over the blogesphere lately. I wasn't rushing out to buy it, just so you know. It looked interesting, but it was a pricey hardcover ($32 in Canada) and it was sort of being over hyped. Thing is, so many different people whose book blogs I follow were raving about it. It's rare that a book tends to travel through blogs of different genres with such praise. My husband and I happened to be at the bookstore last weekend (I wanted the latest Clean Eating magazine) and I was feeling glum. I have about five or six books with bookmarks in them right now, I can't get into any of them. As I said to a friend on twitter last night:Thankfully I was not struck by lightning after writing that. But it honestly depicts how I feel about reading right now.So I bought the book because it was 30% off and I had an additional 10% off with my discount card. I figured that brought it down to the price of most YA books these days, so why not take the chance? Also, the cover is super pretty.The Night Circus isn't a fast read. I did read slower than normal though due to my lack of focus on all things book these days, but, really, you have to digest The Night Circus and savour it. Was it a good book? Yes. I found myself becoming more and more captivated by Celia and Marco, when at first I didn't think I would care much for them. I felt connected to Bailey and the twins, Poppet and Widget, though I was sure I wouldn't.I wanted to unravel the magical mystery that was the Night Circus and savour every revelation and illusion.This entire book took me almost a week to read (really, really slow for me!) yet, it would remain in my thoughts long after I'd put the book down to do something else (like sleep and eat). The last third of the book I sat, riveted, on the couch and even read it while shovelling food into my mouth during dinner. I wanted to step into the pages and explore the circus and the mysterious lives of Celia and Marco.I don't know what it was about the book that I loved so much, perhaps the atmosphere? I think reading it in October/November is the perfect time to be reading this book. There's just something haunting about it. At the same time, as I read I was acutely aware that this isn't a book I would normally enjoy. However, as soon as my brain would wander into the "This is boring" zone, something in those pages would draw me back and keep me wanting more.This book could be found pictured next to the definition of "literature" I think. It's a smart book, but smart in a way that also caters to those with dreamy imaginations. The Night Circus is not pretentious, though it could come off that way if it weren't so comfortable to be around. Like a fancy dinner party you're anxious about only to realize that everyone there is friendly and casual in manner, so you relax and just enjoy the evening more than you thought you would.That's exactly how I felt about this book.My one problem with the book was with the physical book itself. I found the swirly black and white designs on some of the pages to make me very dizzy and migraine-ish. I have a sensitivity to strobe lights and black on white, so I read most of the book while trying to cover up the pages where the design would slip through. If I didn't, I'd see it in my peripheral vision and feel very dizzy reading the book. I always take the cover off of hard cover books when I read them so I don't destroy it accidentally, and that helped. But those part change sections made my eyes swim. However, I sort of thought of said dizziness as a trance-like state as I wandered through the circus.The Night Circus is the type of book I want to see on screen. I think this could make an extremely amazing movie if done well and it stayed true to the story. The imagery itself would be stunning. I would see this movie (only if it was like the book and not changed to make it more "Hollywood".)Buy your own copy! AmazonUS | AmazonCA