The Novel Strumpet Reviews The New Book The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern!

Ohhhh, I always love it when I get a new review from the Novel Strumpet! Sexy women who read! It’s like a Van Halen video… Hot For Teacher Baby! And when I look for a good book to snuggle up with, after of course I raid my DVD collection, gaze over my autographed posters; get a snack, etc… I always look for the Novel Strumpet to guide through the maze of books at my disposal…

Today, the Strumpet is reviewing The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern… Sounds carnival-like and rocking… MMMMMM sexy carnivals….

Yep, the Coke Zero has kicked in again! But check out The Novel Strumpet’s proper review after the jump!

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern:

Imagine this: You are a child, you’re mentor comes to you and says you are going to play a game. They can’t tell you what it’s about, who the other player is, what the rules are, where it will be played, how it will end. but that you will be playing and there is no way out of it once it has started. What you do know is that you are bound to it the moment a ring is placed around your finger and imbeds itself into your very core. Your opponent will be as skilled as you, and that neither of you can interfere with what the other has put into motion. Then you are given a venue of endless possibilities, a traveling circus with tents and performers that you can use. How far do you think the game would go? For Marco and Celia, there will come a moment where the game becomes something much more and all too dangerously real.

Wow…that looks good, maybe I should start doing PR or adverts…cue spooky music

Magic is not a new concept for novels, but there are so many different forms and ways of using it and that is what makes this novel so fascinating. Morgenstern has created a tale that is contemporary and old at the same time. She has given us characters that we are drawn to and repelled by simultaneously. She has ingeniously made the reader a part of the game being played out, even if we are only a spectator. There’s just so much that makes up this novel I can’t even tell you where to begin because then I think of something else to tell you, and so on.

I can say that this is one of those rare novels where the love story almost…almost…gets in the way. And we all know what a hopeless romantic I am, so for me to say that. As a reader you know who the opponents are, and it would almost have been more satisfying to me if they had discovered each other and then formed a great friendship vs. great romance. Like the X-Files before Mulder and Scully got together…ah the good old days…BUT in Marco’s defense, if a man was able to build me an illusion where I was floating on a ship made of books across an endless ink sea…well, let’s just say he wouldn’t have to try very hard after that.

This is also one of those novels that you don’t want to end and not because you’re so invested in the story (which you are) but because the world Morgenstern weaves is so utterly fascinating it keeps spinning and shaping long after you read the last words. It’s an insidious gem of a book that wraps you into its web so slowly that you don’t know you’re trapped inside until it’s too late to crawl out. Not that you want to. It’s also one of those rare novels that, I almost need to see on a movie screen because there is so much imagery and so much depends on sight that having a film might only help you to appreciate the novel more. I have a pretty active imagination and I was having trouble soaking in all the details, but in a good way. However, a movie would have to be done right which is a very delicate balance for such a book. And Summit already has film rights, so…ahem…um, yeah…might I suggest a mini-series? I just don’t see how this will all fit into one film unless you split the book in to, like, 4 movies. No, I’m serious.

I would highly recommend this book. I wished I dreamed so I could dream the images in this book. I want so badly to tell you everything, but then I don’t want you to know anything….aaaaaaahhhhhhhh….so here are my suggestions:

1) Get some paper to jot things down because this novel jumps time quite often and you will need a flowchart to keep up.
2) Make sure you are completely free from distraction because, while it’s pretty obvious where things are going, the pictures painted with words are so delicate you don’t want to lose the balance. Bad things happen in the circus when the balance is lost.
3) Take a break every two or three chapters for an hour or more. I literally plowed through the last 150 pages and then was up most of the night because my brain was trying to digest all the complexities of the imagery and story…it was on overload.
4) If you see Le Cirque des Reves call/write me because I have my black, white and red on and am ready to attend.