The Night Circus

I really enjoyed reading this book. I picked it relatively at random because it was on the homepage of the library's website for downloadable library books and the snipped didn't look terrible. A couple friends of mine read it and didn't like it as much, which surprised me because I liked it a lot. Maybe I was just in the mindset or mood to be entranced by something and let my imagination run wild with this magical imagery and quasi-romantic storyline. Regardless of the exact reasons, I read this very quickly because I could barely put it down and felt that envy for the supernatural that you feel when reading something like Harry Potter. 

The Night Circus 

By Erin Morgenstern

I think another thing I liked about this book was that the first snippet or so that I read reminded me of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, which I don't even remember particularly well other than the beginning about a mysterious circus or something coming to town (did I even ever read it all? I'm not sure). Come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever did read it. But the first chapter is quite mysterious with the introduction of this strange lightning rod seller and a shift of the air, and the night circus that pops up out of nowhere and only opens at night has that same tangible otherness that is not so different as to be unbelievable but is just unusual enough to be completely entrancing.

 

I didn't really underline much in this book - I focused less on individual details or passages or sentences and instead was mostly just racing along to find out what happened next. Like I said, this book really captured me for some reason. These are the two things I clipped from it, which isn't terribly surprising to me based on the sentiment. One, that a great dinner party of kindred spirits does wonders for loneliness and that sometimes being special isn't what's required, but just putting yourself out there to be in the right place at the right time. My dad often told me that most of life was about luck and about putting yourself in the position that luck could happen to you. 

They sit over their drinks smiling like children and they relish being surrounded by kindred spirits, if only for an evening. When they depart, they shake hands and embrace like old friends, even if they have only just met, and as they go their separate ways they feel less alone than they had before. 

“But I’m not  …  special,” Bailey says. “Not the way they are. I’m not anyone important.” “I know,” Celia says. “You’re not destined or chosen, I wish I could tell you that you were if that would make it easier, but it’s not true. You’re in the right place at the right time, and you care enough to do what needs to be done. Sometimes that’s enough.”