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Aug. 6th, 2014 12:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leia131This post should be a review of last night's Face Off, but it's not because I haven't seen that episode yet. Our satellite was being wonky (which NEVER happened in NC, and happens all the damn time up here in MA) so we DVRed a later showing of it, which hopefully is there for me to watch tonight. So, you know, look for that post tomorrow.
In the meantime, Andrew and I finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern last night, so please enjoy my brief review of it.
It’s telling that the title of this book is The Night Circus, and not Marco and Celia or Bailey’s Circus or anything with a character name in it; this book is about the circus itself, almost as a living entity, and how the people who created and inhabit it shape and preserve it. This is not a story about the characters as much as it’s a story about the world they’re in.
The Night Circus is not a book that is going to tie up loose ends, or give you all the answers. In fact, you should have figured this out long before then end, because Erin (we're on a first name basis; also I can't spell her last name) is exceedingly good at showing you things happening, but not telling you how or why. And that’s because the how and the why are not really the point. The Night Circus is atmospheric, a slow burn of a novel that doesn't have a great deal of plot. Things happen, but they take a while to get started and progress slowly, with entire chapters devoted to describing the circus rather than events that happen within it. There’s not a villain, per se (though a case could be made for Hector Bowen, ugh) and if you want all the plot threads to be tied up in a bow at the end, this is not the book for you. I enjoyed this book, even though it’s the tiniest bit frustrating not to know what happened to everyone (Ethan, Lainie, and Bailey's family in particular) in the end. On the other hand, Erin does give you just enough to draw your own conclusions, and not knowing for sure is really part of this book’s charm. (One of the standout things to me is that Bailey ends up taking over the circus, and I'm still not sure, nor is anyone else in the book, why he was the one to do it. He simply was, and that's good enough for the story.) I feel as though neat answers and firm conclusions would almost ruin the mysterious, nebulous nature of the book.
I have only two very small issues with the book, and one of them is entirely not Erin’s fault. The summary of the story that’s written on the inside of the book flap states that Marco and Celia are going to fall madly in love, and that the contest they’re engaged in is lethal. I don’t think Erin ever intended for her audience to know those two facts going in (especially the latter one, which comes as a great surprise to the contestants, and which I’m pretty sure was meant to be a big reveal to the audience) and I felt like I would have enjoyed the build of Celia and Marco’s relationship more if I hadn't already known where it was heading. So, you know, if you recommend this book to others, tell them not to read the summary.
My other very small quibble is with Erin’s writing itself. This is her first novel, and there can be no doubt that her premise, imagination, storytelling, characters, setting, and prose are wonderful. The book is extremely easy to lose yourself in, and it’s an enjoyable experience. I don’t know how she manages to come up with tent after amazing tent to fill her circus, but I was duly impressed with each one. I hope that Erin grows as a writer though, and learns that 1. Not every line of dialogue needs a dialogue tag, especially when there are only two people in the scene, and extra especially when the line ends in a question mark and the tag you use is ‘asks’. 2. The following sentence structure is all right when used sparingly, but she used it far too often: “He doesn't go after her her. Though he wants to.” That really could, and should, be one sentence, and when you start three sentences with ‘though’ in one paragraph, you’re doing it too much. 3. If you put words in French or Latin or whatever, and the meaning of them is actually important to understanding what’s going on in the scene, please throw the translation in so I don’t have to Google it.
But Erin’s concept is good, the execution is well done for the most part (I especially liked the different timelines that all came together in the end) and I honestly look forward to seeing what else she writes in the future. The characters were likable and relatable, and even a few who I didn't like at first (I’m looking at you, Marco, you were pretty rotten to Isobel) grew on me. Although the ending was fairly open, it was also happy and fit with the rest of the book. I wasn't compelled to get to the end of this one quickly (like I was with, say, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) but that may have been because I was really enjoying the ride.
I do recommend this book, preferably for a day when it’s gloomy outside and you want to lose yourself in another world. If they do ever make a movie out of it, I’ll probably go see it, though I doubt anything they render in CGI will be able to live up to the pictures Erin painted in my head.
In the meantime, Andrew and I finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern last night, so please enjoy my brief review of it.
It’s telling that the title of this book is The Night Circus, and not Marco and Celia or Bailey’s Circus or anything with a character name in it; this book is about the circus itself, almost as a living entity, and how the people who created and inhabit it shape and preserve it. This is not a story about the characters as much as it’s a story about the world they’re in.
The Night Circus is not a book that is going to tie up loose ends, or give you all the answers. In fact, you should have figured this out long before then end, because Erin (we're on a first name basis; also I can't spell her last name) is exceedingly good at showing you things happening, but not telling you how or why. And that’s because the how and the why are not really the point. The Night Circus is atmospheric, a slow burn of a novel that doesn't have a great deal of plot. Things happen, but they take a while to get started and progress slowly, with entire chapters devoted to describing the circus rather than events that happen within it. There’s not a villain, per se (though a case could be made for Hector Bowen, ugh) and if you want all the plot threads to be tied up in a bow at the end, this is not the book for you. I enjoyed this book, even though it’s the tiniest bit frustrating not to know what happened to everyone (Ethan, Lainie, and Bailey's family in particular) in the end. On the other hand, Erin does give you just enough to draw your own conclusions, and not knowing for sure is really part of this book’s charm. (One of the standout things to me is that Bailey ends up taking over the circus, and I'm still not sure, nor is anyone else in the book, why he was the one to do it. He simply was, and that's good enough for the story.) I feel as though neat answers and firm conclusions would almost ruin the mysterious, nebulous nature of the book.
I have only two very small issues with the book, and one of them is entirely not Erin’s fault. The summary of the story that’s written on the inside of the book flap states that Marco and Celia are going to fall madly in love, and that the contest they’re engaged in is lethal. I don’t think Erin ever intended for her audience to know those two facts going in (especially the latter one, which comes as a great surprise to the contestants, and which I’m pretty sure was meant to be a big reveal to the audience) and I felt like I would have enjoyed the build of Celia and Marco’s relationship more if I hadn't already known where it was heading. So, you know, if you recommend this book to others, tell them not to read the summary.
My other very small quibble is with Erin’s writing itself. This is her first novel, and there can be no doubt that her premise, imagination, storytelling, characters, setting, and prose are wonderful. The book is extremely easy to lose yourself in, and it’s an enjoyable experience. I don’t know how she manages to come up with tent after amazing tent to fill her circus, but I was duly impressed with each one. I hope that Erin grows as a writer though, and learns that 1. Not every line of dialogue needs a dialogue tag, especially when there are only two people in the scene, and extra especially when the line ends in a question mark and the tag you use is ‘asks’. 2. The following sentence structure is all right when used sparingly, but she used it far too often: “He doesn't go after her her. Though he wants to.” That really could, and should, be one sentence, and when you start three sentences with ‘though’ in one paragraph, you’re doing it too much. 3. If you put words in French or Latin or whatever, and the meaning of them is actually important to understanding what’s going on in the scene, please throw the translation in so I don’t have to Google it.
But Erin’s concept is good, the execution is well done for the most part (I especially liked the different timelines that all came together in the end) and I honestly look forward to seeing what else she writes in the future. The characters were likable and relatable, and even a few who I didn't like at first (I’m looking at you, Marco, you were pretty rotten to Isobel) grew on me. Although the ending was fairly open, it was also happy and fit with the rest of the book. I wasn't compelled to get to the end of this one quickly (like I was with, say, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) but that may have been because I was really enjoying the ride.
I do recommend this book, preferably for a day when it’s gloomy outside and you want to lose yourself in another world. If they do ever make a movie out of it, I’ll probably go see it, though I doubt anything they render in CGI will be able to live up to the pictures Erin painted in my head.
