The Night Circus

“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.  You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.”

This is gonna sounds so cheesy, but that quote above is exactly how I feel when I finished this book. The Night Circus is a stand alone fantasy book written by Erin Morgenstern. The story revolved between two magicians who set against each other in a magical challenge by their venerable masters with Le Cirque des Rêves as their battle ground. Things get complicated when the two of them start to fall for each other and their thread of fates got tangled with others who live inside the circus.

This book is my entry for Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2016 as ‘A book recommended by someone you just met.’ I’ve got to be honest, this is one of few categories that I dreaded this year. Some of you who know me in person may not believe it, but I really am bad at first impression and talking to random people. I might look like a living whirlwind of confidence, but I’m really really shy when I meet someone new. Luckily, back in May, I was visiting The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale in Jakarta, and got a chance to meet this lovely young lady named Tasha. I saw her and her mom at the entrance gate, and I’m contemplating myself for about 20 minutes before I mustered up my courage to say hi. I was so glad that both of them are very kind people, and didn’t look at me like I’m a weirdo (because I’m pretty sure I was looking like one, because I was so nervous.) At the end of our conversation, Tasha recommended ‘The Night Circus’ to me. I was glad because:  1.) This books has been on my never-ending TBR list for too long. About two or three years, I suppose. 2.) Because I already own the epub version, so I don’t need to buy a new book. (Though after I finished this book the first thing I did was order the hardcover edition from Book Depository.)

Now, after I finished this book, I feel a huge need to thank Tasha again for recommended this book to me because this book is so beautiful. The narrative inside this book itself is a magic. I’ve lost count on how many times I paused, closed the book and sigh because the descriptive part is so beautiful. Erin Morgenstern did her magic by creating an enchanting tiny little magical world in a form of circus. I’m pretty sure that she herself is a witch, I say it as a compliment. Because I haven’t found any writer that succeeded in creating a magical world in such tiny place like she did. Most of them need to create a pretty big world as a magical and magnificent place, like what Tolkien and GRRM did. But Erin manage to did it only with a traveling circus which delightful magic and illusions still captivated me as I write this review.

Eventhough it’s a bit cliché, the premise of the story itself is beautiful. I was pretty sure that I’m going to fall in love with the lovers in this book. But by the end of it I realized that I love the circus itself as much as I love the star-crossed lovers. Every characters’ POV in this book has enchanted me. The pace in this book is rather slow for me. I usually hate a slow pace story, but the way Erin wrote it is so beautiful and smooth. I thought I was going to hate it after the first chapter, but then I enjoy the slow narrative too much I can’t help my self but to love it with all my heart.

As I finished this book, I feel like I just wake up from a very alluring dream, and I’m not ready to part from it yet. I want to linger in the illusion of Le Cirque des Rêves a bit longer.

• Title           : The Night Circus

• Author       : Erin Morgenstern

• Language   : English

• Page Count: 400 pages