the Night Circus

Not being a fan of fantasy fiction, I had a difficult time finishing this book.  A book club that I joined decided to read this book and so there I was, if I wanted to participate in this month’s selection,  I had to read the book. That being said, I did find some redeeming qualities to the story…it is a love story and I am usually a sucker for romance.  Although, it is a love story written for a young-adult audience, so the romance was G rated.  I suspect if you are a fan of Young-adult or Adult fantasy novels then this one might be a good choice for you.

The key element of all fantasy fiction is magic, and this novel has plenty of that. The circus arrives in the middle of the night and leaves without warning.  Inside are tents with fortune tellers, acrobats and illusionists.  There are magical dream tents like the Hall of Mirrors, the Ice Garden and the Wishing Tree.  

When we first meet Celia, she is a 5-year-old with magical powers.  Her father is a magician as well, and he is beyond happy when he realizes his daughter also has the gift of magic.  So confident is he in his daughters’ magical abilities, when she is just a teenager he commits her to a duel of sorts.  Celia with participate in an epic battle of magic that will result in death for the loser. Her worthy opponent Marco, has his own magical abilities.   For years, they study and perfect their magic till the day they will meet and outperform each other.  What Celia’s father and Marco’s mentor never anticipated was that the two would meet and fall in love.  

Now in love, Celia and Marco need to outwit the game in-order to stay together and alive.

The Night Circus has won numerous awards and there is talk of making a movie.  I would be interested in a movie version of the novel.