Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2 Stars

Thankfully, I borrowed this book but I can still say:

This isn’t what I didn’t pay for.

“Fierce competition” the book vowed to me. 

But I was handed a big plate of endless descriptions of a 'magical' circus, which frankly sounds like any other circus. I would have been more impressed with the supposedly ‘fierce’ competition the book promised me - that is to say if there was one. 

The competition is actually about one chapter long but the competition lasted for over a decade, where the two competitors Celia and Marco literally do nothing, until the end of the book where everything is then just resolved. I’m not even sure if I read ‘The Night Circus’ properly, because I’m incapable of explaining this with perfect clarity. 

The author’s imagery is very vivid, but it doesn’t make up for the lack of plot. Every chapter was set several months or years apart to the previous chapter, and it would take the author one or two pages to set the atmosphere. I felt as if the author knew this book would be adapted to the big screens, therefore she wrote the book in a very cinematic style, which did not improve or help the story. The characters are horrifically underdeveloped and their actions make no sense. 

If you’re interested in solely reading about a circus then do so, if you’re interested in developed characters with a decent plot then look somewhere else. 
By the way if you want a really amazing competition then watch 'The Prestige'.