(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.

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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?)