The Night Circus

Summary (No spoilers)

The Night Circus is, no surprise, a story of a circus that is only open at night. It shows up unannounced, shrouded in mystery. The circus performers are bound together as both pawns and players in a magician’s bet. There is love, mystery, magic, and whimsy.

Touchstones

I have three quotes to share here. Two feel poignant in the current political climate:

“People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.”

This, I think, is an important reminder for all of us in our echo chambers. Confirmation bias is hard to fight, but awareness is a powerful tool.

“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.”

Given all the overwhelming, seemingly impossible problems and tragedies in the world today it is easy to feel both despair and that someone else should or will take care of it. Sometimes I need the reminder that caring for the situation or the person in front of me and doing the next needed thing - it matters. And it’s not nothing.

The last quote I have to share reminds me of that Trisha Yearwood song “She’s in Love with the Boy”. There is a line in the song that is basically talking to her husband about their teenage daughter who is in love. It goes “my daddy said you wasn’t worth a lick, when it came to brains you got the short end of the stick. But he was wrong and honey you are too. Katie looks at Tommy like I still look at you.” This has the same vibe.

“Follow your dreams, Bailey. Be they Harvard or something else entirely. No matter what that father of yours says, or how loudly he might say it. He forgets that he was someone’s dream once, himself.”

My review

I have been having some difficulty lately in finding a book that really captures my attention. At this point I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps I am the problem. Nevertheless, I enjoyed The Night Circus. There were some lovely scenes and storylines. Nothing that really struck me. The alternating timeline of the chapters was hard to follow at times, but I don’t think it necessarily detracted from the story itself. I’ll give The Night Circus 3.5 stars.