The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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.