THE NIGHT CIRCUS
BY ERIN MORGENSTERN
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
"The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book."
-- Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife
"If this novel is just cotton candy, it's cotton candy spun from strands of edible silver...With no more lust than a late volume of Harry Potter, Morgenstern manages to conjure up a love story for adults that feels luxuriously romantic. When Celia calls their circus a 'wonder and comfort and mystery all together,' she could have been talking about this book."
"If this novel is just cotton candy, it's cotton candy spun from strands of edible silver...With no more lust than a late volume of Harry Potter, Morgenstern manages to conjure up a love story for adults that feels luxuriously romantic. When Celia calls their circus a 'wonder and comfort and mystery all together,' she could have been talking about this book."
--Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus, is quietly, enchantingly perfect…reading this novel is like having a marvelous dream, in which you are asleep enough to believe everything that is happening, but awake enough to relish the experience and understand that it is magical.”
“Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus, is quietly, enchantingly perfect…reading this novel is like having a marvelous dream, in which you are asleep enough to believe everything that is happening, but awake enough to relish the experience and understand that it is magical.”
--Newsday
"Morgenstern’s Circus is the stuff that dreams are made of, and nothing short of a wild ride."
"Morgenstern’s Circus is the stuff that dreams are made of, and nothing short of a wild ride."
--Elle magazine
"Magical. Enchanting. Spellbinding. Mesmerizing."
--Associated Press
"[A] few pages into this story of a mysterious circus and its two stars, a young man and a woman who are both capable of real magic, and you know you are in the presence of an extraordinary storyteller."
--The Daily Beast
"[T]he world of The Night Circus is elaborately designed, fantastically imagined and instantly intoxicating -- as if the reader had downed a glass of absinthe and leapt into a hallucination."
--Rachel Syme for NPR.org
"Debut author Morgenstern doesn't miss a beat in this smashing tale of greed, fate, and love...a giant, magical story destined for bestsellerdom. This is an electric debut on par with Special Topics in Calamity Physics."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Self-assured, entertaining debut that blends genres and crosses continents in quest of magic… Generous in its vision and fun to read. Likely to be a big book—and, soon, a big movie, with all the franchise trimmings."
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“To enter the black-and-white-striped tents of Le Cirque des Rêves is to enter a world where objects really do turn into birds and people really do disappear…Debut novelist Morgenstern has written a 19th-century flight of fancy that is, nevertheless, completely believable. The smells, textures, sounds, and sights are almost palpable. A literary Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, this read is completely magical.”—Library Journal, starred review
"This big and compelling first novel ushers in a menacing tone with its first sentence: "The circus arrives without warning."...With appeal for readers not particularly geared to fantasy but who plainly enjoy an unusual and well-drawn story, this one will make a good crossover suggestion."
--Booklist, starred review
“‘Dark as soot and bright as sparks,’ The Night Circus still holds me willingly captive in a world of almost unbearable beauty. This is a love story on a grand scale: it creates, it destroys, it ultimately transcends. Take a bow, Erin Morgenstern. This is one of the best books I have ever read.”
—Brunonia Barry, author of The Lace Reader
“A riveting debut. The Night Circus pulls you into a world as dark as it is dazzling, fully-realized but still something out of a dream. You will not want to leave it.”
—Brunonia Barry, author of The Lace Reader
“A riveting debut. The Night Circus pulls you into a world as dark as it is dazzling, fully-realized but still something out of a dream. You will not want to leave it.”
—Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger’s Wife
"Every once in awhile you find a novel so magical that there is no escaping its spell. The Night Circus is one of these rarities -- engrossing, beautifully written and utterly enchanting. If you choose to read just one novel this year, this is it."
"Every once in awhile you find a novel so magical that there is no escaping its spell. The Night Circus is one of these rarities -- engrossing, beautifully written and utterly enchanting. If you choose to read just one novel this year, this is it."
—Danielle Trussoni, author of Angelology
"Pure pleasure...Erin Morgenstern is a gifted, classic storyteller, a tale-teller, a spinner of the charmed and mesmerizing -- I had many other things I was supposed to be doing, but the book kept drawing me back in and I tore through it. You can be certain this riveting debut will create a group of rêveurs all its own."
"Pure pleasure...Erin Morgenstern is a gifted, classic storyteller, a tale-teller, a spinner of the charmed and mesmerizing -- I had many other things I was supposed to be doing, but the book kept drawing me back in and I tore through it. You can be certain this riveting debut will create a group of rêveurs all its own."
—Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
"The Night Circus is a very atmospheric tale in which things are seen in the half-light of another century's lamps. Morgenstern makes much of these shadows. She also clearly savors objects such as unusual clocks, vanishing rings, flaming cauldrons and strange carousels, and will make you savor them as well."
"The Night Circus is a very atmospheric tale in which things are seen in the half-light of another century's lamps. Morgenstern makes much of these shadows. She also clearly savors objects such as unusual clocks, vanishing rings, flaming cauldrons and strange carousels, and will make you savor them as well."
--Los Angeles Times
"Puts me in mind of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes lightened up by Harry Potter. This will be big."
--Library Journal
"Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus is a standout. With echoes of Alice Hoffman (fairy tale magic), Audrey Niffenegger (teleporting) and J.K. Rowling (young wizards, here magicians), Morgenstern's debut is lifted by its poetic writing, winking literary allusions and thematic cohesion."
"Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus is a standout. With echoes of Alice Hoffman (fairy tale magic), Audrey Niffenegger (teleporting) and J.K. Rowling (young wizards, here magicians), Morgenstern's debut is lifted by its poetic writing, winking literary allusions and thematic cohesion."
--The Kansas City Star
"If the preamble -- so aptly titled 'Anticipation' -- doesn't make you sit right down on the floor of your library or bookstore to see what Morgenstern conjures up next, you may not be the right reader for this novel. I'll wager, however, that you will fall quickly under her spell."
"If the preamble -- so aptly titled 'Anticipation' -- doesn't make you sit right down on the floor of your library or bookstore to see what Morgenstern conjures up next, you may not be the right reader for this novel. I'll wager, however, that you will fall quickly under her spell."
--Star Tribune
"So should you read Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus? The short answer: 'Yes.' The Book is engaging and magical, entrancing the reader every step of the way."
--Huffington Post
AN EXCERPT FROM THE NIGHT CIRCUS:
ANTICIPATION
The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick.
But it is not open for business. Not just yet.
Within hours everyone in town has heard about it. By afternoon the news has spread several towns over. Word of mouth is a more effective method of advertisement than typeset words and exclamation points on paper pamphlets or posters. It is impressive and unusual news, the sudden appearance of a mysterious circus. People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents. They stare at the clock that sits just inside the gates that no one can properly describe.
And the black sign painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, the one that reads:
Opens at Nightfall
Closes at Dawn
“What kind of circus is only open at night?” people ask. No one has a proper answer, yet as dusk approaches there is a substantial crowd of spectators gathering outside the gates.
You are amongst them, of course. TO FINISH READING THIS EXCERPT, GO TO THE RANDOM HOUSE WEBSITE HERE TO READ IT.
The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick.
But it is not open for business. Not just yet.
Within hours everyone in town has heard about it. By afternoon the news has spread several towns over. Word of mouth is a more effective method of advertisement than typeset words and exclamation points on paper pamphlets or posters. It is impressive and unusual news, the sudden appearance of a mysterious circus. People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents. They stare at the clock that sits just inside the gates that no one can properly describe.
And the black sign painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, the one that reads:
Opens at Nightfall
Closes at Dawn
“What kind of circus is only open at night?” people ask. No one has a proper answer, yet as dusk approaches there is a substantial crowd of spectators gathering outside the gates.
You are amongst them, of course. TO FINISH READING THIS EXCERPT, GO TO THE RANDOM HOUSE WEBSITE HERE TO READ IT.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
ERIN MORGENSTERN is a writer and a multimedia artist, who describes all her work as "fairy tales in one way or another." She lives in Massachusetts.
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
THE NIGHT CIRCUS is one of those books that for me, comes along only once in a while. It has captured me from page one and with all the things I want to share with you above, I will be posting my review later so watch for it. I want to try and carefully write it as this is a book that deserves the special attention. Please watch for my review that will link back to this post coming up during the giveaway period. Along with my review will be bonus entries as I am sure you will all want to win this one for sure!
GIVEAWAY
THANKS TO LIZ AND THE GOOD FOLKS
AT RANDOM HOUSE, I HAVE TWO
COPIES OF THIS BEST SELLING AMAZING
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY TO READERS
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER:
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ABOUT ERIN MORGENSTERN BY VISITING HER WEBSITE HERE
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK, PLEASE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, COMMENT ON EACH WAY SEPARATELY.
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER:
+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU READ AND SAW ABOVE ABOUT THE NIGHT CIRCUS THAT MADE YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ABOUT ERIN MORGENSTERN BY VISITING HER WEBSITE HERE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING IN THE PRAISE SECTION THAT MADE YOU WANT TO READ THE BOOK EVEN MORE. JUST NAME THE PUBLICATION OR REVIEWER YOU LIKED BEST
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK, PLEASE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, COMMENT ON EACH WAY SEPARATELY.
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, OCTOBER 28
6 PM, EST, OCTOBER 28
GOOD LUCK!
