Manipulation, what is possibly impossible is possible,
transportation and transfigurations—all these make for a great story and Erin
Morgenstern has written a great story. I
tried to get a grasp on the story line as I was reading the book, to find a
meaning in its words, a deeper sense of purpose but am not sure I did. I was never the child who wanted to run away
and join the circus. In fact, I have
only seen one circus in my life.
I looked deeper into these stories to find something to
which I could relate. First I settled on
the name of the circus—Le Cirque des Rêves—the circus of dreams. We all dream. Dreaming is used to make sense
of the world, to enable us to accomplish things we cannot in our awake
life. Was this book about unresolved
dreams? I could argue yes. Many parents live out their life’s dreams
through their children and that might be the source of the challenge between Mr.
A H and Prospero as to whose student would win the challenge. Celia and Marco were pawns in this challenge
but like many children strove to do what they could to make the adult
happy. Once they were old enough to
realize what was going on they began to work to protect others as well. As in
life everything is connected.
What I liked about the book is that it moved smoothly
without boring me. It had enough
characters with varied backgrounds to keep me interested. There was enough intrigue to make me want to
finish the book. I liked the connectedness of the characters. Bailey represented the outside world and the
role it played in the night circus. The
twins represent the opportunity for a boy and girl to continue in life as Celia
and Marco are not permitted—maybe an alter ego? Hector became invisible but always present.
Did he actually die and was there in the memory more than reality?
What I am not sure I liked is the love story. Yes it was great that they got together in
the end, I think! They worked at
creating the alternate universes to get to know one another and this eventually
creates a problem for them. Could they
pass the challenge and live in peace together?
I think that is what happened once they were able to ensure that Bailey
would manage the circus, Widget and Poppet would continue their work, etc. Some decided to step out of the game. Did
this mean they died? At what age?
The confusion between reality and dreams is what drives the
story line of the book. I guess that is also what makes it a good book. It is then up to the reader to determine if
they would prefer to stay in the circus, ageing very slowly, being able to
adapt to any situation, to manipulate the environs and to put things back
together when it falls apart or step away from the game and follow a life with
one’s true love even if it is not the life you were trained to live.
