The Night Circus Jacket

Somewhere in the middle of this book, I became annoyed with the so-called magic night circus. There are only so many synonyms for the word “magical” and the author uses them all.

Kudos to Morgenstern for description after description of the most tactile visuals she could dream up. But circus tents alone cannot hold up the story.

The inexplicable, convoluted “game” at the center of the plot built me up and let me down. So much promise and mystery in the beginning! How would Celia and Marco get together? What are the rules of this game? What sinister forces lie behind it?

I was so willing to go along for the ride, but my suspension of disbelief finally snapped, right about time the precocious twins Poppet and Widget become central characters. I can’t take a Poppet or Widget seriously. Sorry.

The plot points of The Night Circus unfold awkwardly and unsatisfactorily. Also, the  chronology is cumbersome. Morgenstern sends readers back and forth through time.  First years apart and then days apart, switching too often to keep track. I kept flipping back to see what year it is and what year it was and oh god, now I have to pay attention to the months too.

For that reason, I am glad I read a hardback version rather than a Kindle e-book. The book jacket and inside design conjured up the look and feel of the late 18th century and a black-and-white circus. I would have missed those graphics on my Kindle. A good friend listened to the audio book. She says listening to the descriptions read aloud enhanced the imagery.

With all these criticisms, you’d think I hated the book. But no, I tore through the book to find out what happened. When a book puts that magical “can’t-put-it-down” spell on me, the book defaults to “good.”

I’m just mad it wasn’t great.

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