I think of myself not as a writer so much as some one who provides a gateway, a tangential route for readers to reach the circus. To visit the circus again, if only in their minds, when they are unable to attend it physically. I relay it through printed words on crumpled newsprint, words that they can read again and again, returning to the circus whenever they wish, regardless of time of day or physical location. Transporting them at will. When put that way, it sounds rather like magic, doesn’t it? - The Night Circus

~ ★ ★ ★ ~

The Night Circus was a beautiful book that focused on description and prose; it felt timely and otherworldly throughout and did transport you to a distant realm. However, the focus on the prose made it slow and frankly a little boring at times, the first 30% felt like I was wading through thick snow. It was arduous and seemingly never-ending. The saving grace to this was the end and the fact the chapters were short. I would certainly commend Morgenstern on her focus on the literary style - which is something many YA books overlook as they opt for quick, action-packed novels. However, I'm not sure the balance was quite right between prose and storyline to suit my interests.

The plot of The Night Circus is basically a magical "game" between two players (who were selected as children by two old men). They wait through the first (very slow) part of the book as they both grow up to find out who their opponent will be and when their challenge will commence. Then the circus becomes the forefront of the novel as it expands and moves around - we meet several secondary characters throughout the book who take some of the limelight. Widge, Poppet, Herr Thiessen and Bailey being the main individuals that I found developed some level of personality.

The narrative style meant we jumped between years, locations and characters as the narration was a third person, top-down perspective. This narrative style worked very well by the end of the book, but at the start I found it very discombobulated and difficult to follow. This third-person style also meant we were very much removed from the individual thoughts and feelings of the characters which crafted the other-worldly feel but was something I struggled with.

It also meant the characters were a little 'flat'; I didn't feel real personality and passion through the characters although that was clearly supposed to be present at times. By the end of the novel I had connected more with the characters, but there definitely felt like there was this large gulf between the reader and the story. However, I think perhaps part of Morgenstern's aim was to produce a prosaic, thoughtful piece where you could be dragged into a world of mystery and like the circus the characters themselves continuously remained elusive. But again, I'm not entirely sure.

This dualistic nature of the book between utterly boring and utterly beautiful, and me being clueless to everything being very obvious meant I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. Overall, I would say I enjoyed it and I would definitely opt to read another book by Morgenstern to see what kind of wonderful world she creates. However, I would not say this is the most exciting book I've read this year. I do entirely understand both the hype and the 2 star/DNF ratings though. If you haven't tried this book I would suggest giving it a go and seeing what you think as it is one of those literary styles you either love or hate.