The Night Circus

     For my first post on here I thought I'd talk about The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Taking place in the late 1800's to early 1900's, the main characters Celia and Marco are pitted against each other in a competition they hardly know about. Both are well trained "illusionists" that must use their talents within the circus to try to get ahead in the competition. However, growing feelings between the two threaten to throw off the course of the competition.
     This book was really fantastic! This is one of those books I would love to slip into for a while. The imagery was incredible. I could smell the smells of the circus, see the tents and the performers within them, imagine the patrons milling about in wonder. Each chapter changes between characters both within and outside of the circus at any time from about 1890 to 1903. This was really well done, it keeps you interested but doesn't give too much away about the story too fast. You don't actually figure out what exactly is going on until you finish the book.
     On the subject of the chapters, it does make it confusing with the abrupt year changes. You really do have to check the chapter title to see what year you're in or else you'll be terribly confused. The romantic relationship that springs up between the main characters seem a little unrealistic at first. It might have been that I was too anxious to find out what happens that I skipped over something but it felt to me like a Romeo and Juliet kind of relationship. Marco sees Celia, thinks she's amazing, talks to her once, and suddenly he's in love.
     I would recommend this to someone that doesn't mind a long book. It only took me three or four days to read but I'm a hard core reader. It's a story you have to think about and will find yourself thinking about weeks afterwards. Inception effect anyone? A grasp on the French language wouldn't hurt while reading this but not necessary. That was probably mostly for me considering I'm still in the get excited when I can understand something in French phase. Don't be afraid to google! There are parts where they read tarot cards and unless you know about reading tarot, you might be lost for a while. I'm still not quite sure about what it meant but you get the general gist after a while. I'd give this book a four and a half out of five.