Nico Mara-McKay Recommends The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

By on December 5, 2011 in Novel
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

Price: $32.00

ISBN: 9780385671712

Genre: Novel

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The Recommend

Erin Morganstern’s enchanting debut novel circles around a contest staged between two aging (or ageless?) magicians. Their respective champions, Celia and Marco, have been trained since childhood to compete in a game to which neither knows the rules, nor the ultimate objective.

The competition takes place in Le Cirque des Rêves, a travelling circus which opens at nightfall, and closes at dawn. Morganstern’s rich imagery brings the unusual amusements to life:  a cauldron burning with a white flame that never goes out, a flowering garden made of ice, a carousel with moving mythical creatures, a Wishing Tree, and a tattooed contortionist with secrets of her own.

Both Celia and Marco expand the circus, and over the years it grows into something beyond themselves and the people attached to it, becoming more marvellous and more tragic than they could have ever realized.

The Night Circus is magical realism at its most fun.

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Nico Mara-McKay!

Nico Mara-McKay!

Nico Mara-McKay is a writer living in Toronto.

Her essays and reviews have appeared in several magazines, including Konton, PanGaia and Trigger93, and her poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Line Zero, Contemporary Verse 2 and The Antigonish Review, among other journals.

She can be found online at nicomaramckay.com and @plutopsyche.

 

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3 Responses to Nico Mara-McKay Recommends The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

  1. Brasil December 28, 2011 at 12:01 am #

    The descriptions are lush and I found myself going back to reread this book just for the beautiful words. I am NOT a fan of overly descriptive novels, but this one was really worked for me. I couldn’t quite figure out where the story was going until it was over and it didn’t matter, I wanted to join the circus. Oh, forget the review. THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ THIS YEAR. Or…at least I can’t remember one I liked better so far.

    Reply
  2. Christopher Meades January 15, 2012 at 12:02 am #

    Thanks for the thoughtful Review………..I’m definitely going to check this out….

    Reply

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