Upon finishing Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, I was afflicted with those bittersweet post-book blues, hooked on her gilded descriptions and luxurious world-building. In a state of literary withdrawal, I purchased The Night Circus but sadly became too preoccupied by other obligations to finish it then and there. Now with more time on my hands, I restarted the read, devouring the book in about two days and again wanting more. I was skeptical that this book would live up to her other work, or technically the opposite as this was published first, and it nearly did. While there are a lot of similarities in the pace of the plot and other various details, they both pull you into their worlds and give a story lover the ode they desiderate for.

My only complaint is the storyline– so much of the focus is on flourished writings, which by golly they are, that the plot itself is not given a matching amount of thought. I was really hoping for a clever ending, or at least one that made sense as the end of The Starless Sea did. At least there a book about storytelling ended on the theme of storytelling, while here the book focused on magic/romance/the circus and still ended on the theme of storytelling. I recognize that the circus was a way of sharing those ideas and stories, just as video games and other forms of media are in The Starless Sea, but it really feels like she wasn’t totally sure how to tie up all the remaining loose ends while blowing the readers’ minds as much as her descriptions do. Nevertheless, I adore the multidimensionality of nearly every character, as well as the creativity that went into the composition. I think I’d recommend The Starless Sea before I’d recommend The Night Circus, but both novels are definitely worth the read.

Also, don’t ask me to summarize the plot; I’m not quite sure I feasibly could. Just know there’s a magical circus and a light splash of romance.

Happy reading,
-Beppa