The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (REVIEW)

This beautiful, evocative book takes you to the circus and won't let you go with its amazing imagery and luxurious prose. But the plot might suffer just a tad.


The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
387 Pages
Published September 13th, 2011 by Doubleday

"Opens at Nightfall; Closes at Dawn." The Le Cirque des Rêves is a circus unlike any other, just as this magical debut novel is equally unique. At the center of The Night Circus spectacle are two specially gifted young magicians, Celia and Marco, pitted against each other in professional competition, drawn towards one another in love. Erin Morgenstern's literary fantasy has already drawn raves for its captivating evocativeness: "A world of almost unbearable beauty.... A love story on a grand scale: it creates, it destroys, it ultimately transcends." "A novel so magical that there is no escaping its spell... If you choose to read just one novel this year, this is it."

THE NIGHT CIRCUS is definitely a book with a hype surrounding it, and like any book with hype, I went in with low expectations. I am by my own admission not a big fan of poetic, lyrical writing, preferring straight forward and stark prose, so I was already a bit wary of Erin Morgenstern’s debut.

As promised, THE NIGHT CIRCUS is a story of magic, romance, intrigue, and historical beauty wrapped in gorgeous prose and imagery that marks Morgenstern as a talent to be watched in the future. The story follows Celia and Marco, two young magicians locked in a battle of magic that will only end when one dies. Over the course of several decades, we are told of their lives, along with a cast of characters and intertwined stories of love, loss, deceit, and utter beauty. Morgenstern’s talent lies in her indelible use of prose and images, describing in detail scenes of wonder and beauty.

Morgenstern’s problem in the book is not her writing. She is highly skilled. Her imagery is brilliant and thought-provoking. What I found lacking was plot. At times the story feels forced, and for the love between Celia and Marco, there was a suddenness to it, almost random in the way that Celia falls for Marco. At times, the imagery, although breathtaking, overwhelmed the plot, focusing too much on the intricate details of insignificant items and people and too little on the details of the plot, the characters, and the circus itself. At times, characterization can fall flat, glossed over for the sake of beautiful descriptions. I wanted to know more about these characters and I felt like I barely knew them by the end of the book.

Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed this book and I might be one of the few who didn’t outright love it. I would definitely suggest this book to others, and I already have. My mother is already planning on downloading a Kindle copy and reading it soon, and my best friend has promised to find a copy soon. And so should you. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve been hard-pressed to find many people who didn’t really enjoy it. You might just fall in love with it.

VERDICT: With beautiful prose evoking every sense on every page, THE NIGHT CIRCUS’s flaw is the sacrifice of plot for beauty. But my heavens is it beautiful.

♥♥♥♥ - FOUR HEARTS

Spotlight on The God's Wife by Lynn Voedisch

So this week on Book Brats we are happy to be part of the blog tour for Lynn Voedisch's new book THE GOD'S WIFE, released last month by Fiction Studio. If you're looking for a book that mixes ancient history, the paranormal, and a bit of romance, then you might want to check this book out. It has everything that is right up your alley. I really suggest this if you're a fan of Ancient Egypt, because the detail the author uses is extensive. You'll learn a lot about Egyptian religion and history, trust me. Combining the stories of an Egyptian girl destined to be the next Wife of Amun and a modern day girl from Chicago, the story weaves magic and realism to create a compelling, harrowing story. These two girls aren't just two random people thrown together - their stories are interwoven and laced richly with history, magic, and originality. While maybe not the most straight forward book ever written, if you can get into the story it's definitely one that will keep you interested and wrapped up in the layered, intricate plot and settings. Rebecca and Neferet's stories will draw you in and won't let you go. The literary nature of the story could potentially be off putting, with heavy usage of metaphors and similes, but don't let that deter you from giving this book a look.

The God's Wife by Lynn Voedisch
Published August 9, 2011 by Fiction Studio
275 pages

The God's Wife on Goodreads
The God's Wife on Amazon

The women of ancient Egypt were the freest of any civilization on earth, until the modern era. In several dynasties of ancient Egypt the God’s Wives of Amun stood tall, priestesses of wealth and power, who represented the pinnacle of female power in the Egyptian state. Many called The God’s Wife of Amun second only to the Pharaoh in dominance.

THE GOD’S WIFE follows the adventures of a 16-year-old girl, Neferet, who is thrust into the role of The Gods Wife of Amun without proper training. Surrounded by political intrigue and ensnared by sexual stalking, Neferet navigates the temple, doing her duties, while keeping her family name pristine and not ending up like her predecessor—dead.

Meanwhile, a modern-day Chicago dancer, Rebecca, is rehearsing for a role in an ancient Egyptian production and finds herself blacking out and experiencing realistic dreams about life in Egypt. It’s as if she’s coming in contact with Neferet’s world. Are the two parallel worlds on a collision course? They seem to be, for Neferet has just used an old spell to bring protection to her world, and Rebecca meets a mysterious Egyptian man who says he’ll whisk her away to Alexandria. Magic and realism mix for a powerful ending in THE GOD’S WIFE.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin (REVIEW)

Able to look past wonky world building and focus on a well-paced coming of age romantic thriller based on Romeo + Juliet? Check out Gabrielle Zevin's latest book, ALL THESE THINGS I'VE DONE.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

368 Pages

Published September 6th, 2011 by Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux (BYR)

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidentally poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

In Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE, the first in the Birthright Trilogy releasing September 6th from FSG, we are dropped into 2083 New York and the life of mob princess Anya Balanchine (George Balanchine reference anyone?). Her family controls the city of New York’s illegal chocolate supply in an almost apocalyptic (note: not dystopian – nothing remotely utopian here) cityscape where everything from water to paper is rationed and caffeine and cocoa are illegal. Sadly for 16 year old Anya, her parents both died in mob hits and she is left in the care of her dying, bedridden grandmother and her mentally handicapped older brother Leo. She has a lot on her plate, that’s for sure.

ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE begins with a douche of a boyfriend trying to take advantage of Anya, Anya’s revenge, and a fateful meeting of a potential romantic interest while waiting to be seen by the headmaster. From this point things begin to unfold slowly but surely. Poisonings, potential hits, intrigue, arrests, reformatory sentences, and so forth. Anya’s story is one of personal growth and coming of age, along with romance, as she goes from beleaguered caretaker to a self-sustaining young woman who is strong and powerful in her own right.

I loved Anya. She was a great heroine and protagonist, taking on everything that came at her with such deft ease. Even after being smacked down, she picks herself back up and grows. At times her manner of narration (speaking directly to the reader) can be a bit tedious, but the easy mix of literary writing with clean-cut and eloquent is successful. Zevin’s skills as a writer are evident. What I missed, though, was a connection with the other characters, especially Win, the designated love interest in this tale obviously based on Romeo and Juliet. I thought at times the relationship seemed forced and based on little or nothing. It just happened, as did the story at times. An entire year is covered in the novel while only seeming like a month or two, which was somewhat confusing.

About the setting… The story takes place half in 2082 and half in 2083, but besides tablet computers, the mention of rationing and plagues, and the Statue of Liberty’s mysterious fate, it could easily be 1983. There was nothing that set this story apart from now, and that was distracting. To be successfully science fiction, ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE needed more world-building, but this was easy to overlook and so I did, but it is the main reason why I cannot give this a higher rating. And it gets a bonus half point because at the end there is a mention of Mount Koya in Wakayama-ken, Japan. Having been there, I agree – it’s a wonderful place to go into hiding. If book two or three takes a jaunt to Koyasan I will suggest this series to any and everyone. If you ever go to Japan, Mount Koya is a MUST SEE. And stay at a temple. You will not regret it, trust me. I mean, look at this, it’s GORGEOUS.



Enough of my fond memories! I am going to sum this up.

Pros: great writing, awesome heroine, 日本が大好き！！, interesting premise

Cons: nothing really happens, somewhat blah romance, world building issues

VERDICT: Even if the action is kept to a minimum, the pacing keeps pulling you along for the ride, which is the sign of a great writer. At least in my opinion. Ignore the world building issues and you’ve got yourself a tight piece that is sure to keep you interested and hooked.

♥♥♥♥ - FOUR HEARTS