(credits to bloodmilk jewels)
What can I say about this one that hasn’t been said before? Just for posterity’s sake I’ll add a few random thoughts, mostly meant for those of you who’ve read the book (not because of spoilers but just because they’re loose tidbits without a lot of context).
First and foremost: what was your favorite tent? Mine was the one with the glass bottles full of stories and memories. I’d probably never leave.
This is a book meant to be made into a movie and I’m very glad it’s already in the works. I hope the budget does it justice. I especially want to see the fire in the courtyard, the ice garden and Celia’s dresses subtly changing colors. You can tell Erin Morgenstern is also a painter – it’s all about creating images.
Was I the only one who thought that Isobel was Celia, when Marco first meets her in London and invites her for coffee?
Lots of interesting secondary characters that were a bit neglected. Tsukiko, for instance, had a pivotal role at the end but I didn’t feel her tragedy as much as I could have. Chandresh’s spiral into alcohol and Marco-induced oblivion could have been much more poignant. My heart could have easily been broken over Isobel and Thiessen (my favorite character in the whole wide book), but didn’t. There’s so much time spent describing the search for the perfect watchmaker and its construction, that after it was built I felt a bit disappointed – it just sat there.
In general I’m weary of books where anything can happen (e.g. Alice in Wonderland). If there are no limits, I’m not engaged in the story and characters. I was afraid that might happen once the competition began, but it didn’t. Extra brownie points.
Favorite scene: the disturbance in the Force, when the trapeze artist almost falls. Beautifully paced, like literary slow motion.
It’s been said before countless times and I agree: Morgenstern does a great job of creating the dream-like experience of the Circus, I could almost smell those caramel apples. It was my last paper-book of 2011, I liked it a lot, but didn’t make it to the favorites’ list. Why?
I did find it a page-turner but the non-linear plot sometimes cut the flow. Also, the story revolves around this competition between two people in love and several “battles” take place, but there’s not a lot of action or tension until the very end. It also doesn’t help that Marco and Celia are apart most of the story, although the few scenes where we see them together are marvelous – that kiss!
If anyone knows where the Circus will be next, please let me know! I have the perfect red scarf.
***
Lots and lots of other thoughts (was I the last book blogger in the world to post about this?!):
caribousmom, Fantasy Book Critic, A Patchwork of Books, S. Krishna’s Books, The Book Lady’s Blog, Book Chatter, Leeswammes, Book’d Out, My Books. My Life., largehearted boy, 1330v, Fyrefly Book Blog, Babbling About Books, and More, Jules’ Book Reviews, Linus’s Blanket, The Book Bind, Bookhounds, Estella’s Revenge, Farm Lane Books, Alison’s Book Marks, Muggle-Born, Book Monkey, The Guilded Earlobe, Miss Remmers’ Reviews, A Novel Source, Fat Books and Thin Women, Book Diary, Entomology of a Bookworm, nomadreader, Follow the Thread, The Novel World, Hooked on Books, It’s All About Books, Nerfreader, A Musing Reviews, Capricious Reader, Book Sake, The Paper Reader, Indie Reader Houston, Let’s Eat Grandpa!, Book Nook Club, Prairie Horizons, The Book Whisperer, A Book Blog of One’s Own, The Canary, Reading on a Rainy Day, Jenny’s Books, Estante de Livros, book i done read, Literature and a Lens, Reading Matters, Literary Musings, Books Distilled, Under My Apple Tree, Bookeater/Booklover, Bibliophile By the Sea, Books are my Boyfriends
(yours?)
15 comments
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January 23, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Kailana
I liked the tent where everything was made of ice, but yes, that other tent sounds good, too. I hope the movie and its budget does the book justice, too…
January 23, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Kailana
hm, I don’t seem to have your email. I was going to say, I don’t know how to review a play either, so I am waiting until the end of the month and then I am going to answer some of these questions: http://studyingliterature.wordpress.com/
Yep, taking the easy way out… 🙂
January 23, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Andi (Estella's Revenge)
Great review! I loved the bottle room and also the ice tree. This one is still SO vivid in my mind, I know it’s one I’ll re-read.
January 23, 2012 at 6:58 pm
Ti
I loved that tent with all of the bottles. I would never leave that place. What about the cloud tent though?? I just saw an art exhibit of clouds encased in resin and it reminded me of the book.
January 23, 2012 at 8:26 pm
farmlanebooks
I’m with Ti – I loved the cloud tent 🙂 This book wins my award for the most vivid setting, but I agree with you about the plot. Such a shame that these amazing descriptions weren’t wrapped up in a flawless plot.
January 23, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Jenna (Literature and a Lens)
Great review! I agree with you on so many points, especially regarding the tent with the glass bottles. Unfortunately, I went in expecting way too much in terms of plot that I didn’t take the time to truly enjoy the sensory experience Morgenstern provides.
January 23, 2012 at 10:17 pm
vasilly
I love this post! I don’t know which tent is my favorite because there’s so many. Tsukiko’s story should have been told more. I would have really loved to “see” more about her life. I loved learning about Bailey and his life. He’s such a great character.
January 23, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Leslie
Nice review. I’m not sure which tent I liked best.
I felt the same way about the non-linear plot and the lack of action. The writing itself was beautiful. For the same reasons this did not make my best of list, although I did enjoy the book a lot.
January 24, 2012 at 12:24 am
p7
I really liked the ice tent, and the one with the animals in it. I wonder how this book turns out as a movie, it would take a lot of work.
Ahaha, I also though Isobel was Celia when Marco met her. It was actually disappointing that she wasn’t, because I expected to have more scenes with Celia and Marco together.
January 24, 2012 at 7:49 pm
Joanna
Nope, I’ll be the last blogger to post about this book, when I get around to reading it. 🙂 Your post made no sense to me, but to be honest I’m so out of it that I don’t even know what this book is about. But I own it anyway. 🙂
January 24, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Mady
My favourite tent was the one with the ice 🙂
I loved all the visual effects, but had some of the same issues as you had with the plot: some characters could have been much more developed (Tsukiko) and some events were a bit overly described (the search for the perfect clock).
Anyway, Isobel fooled me in the beginning and I did think she was Celia 🙂 I guess that since then I realised I was rooting for them!
January 25, 2012 at 6:51 am
Arti
Your review has me putting a hold in line for the book in our public library. From what you’ve described here, the film adaptation has to require a lot of CGI. Do you think so? Who would you like to see direct and star in it… or do you know who they actually are? I’ve recently seen Hugo 3D, from Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautifully Martin Scorsese had crafted it. Now, he just might be a good choice to do this one?
January 27, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Kinga
Oh, I must be the last person in the world who hasn’t read it yet. Well, I will pass it for now, so I can go at it when everyone has forgotten about it, so I can appear that i am into ‘vintage’. 😀
July 31, 2012 at 12:23 am
Maria
beat you all!!! I am the last person to post about this book…and I also thought that Isobel was Celia…It took me a long time to accept that she was not.
July 23, 2021 at 7:15 pm
hithyshi
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