This is a beautifully dreamy story that I continue to come back to and reread over and over again. Never has a book been quite so immersive for me. ( )

Imagine how exciting it must be for Erin Morgenstern, to have this first book of hers garner the attention of the movie moguls!
I read on her website that the rights have been optioned by “Summit Entertainment”, although she’s not certain when or if it will actually get made. I hope so. It seems they would have to employ at least some animation to truly do it justice. How else will they recreate the wonderland of black and white tents, decorations, and costumes? The awe-inspiring feats of real magic disguised as mere trickery? The great fantastical clocks with their myriad moving parts? And I’d love to see the chameleon like transformations of Celia’s gown as she moves between guests, their own costume’s colorful hues seeping into hers as she approaches them. Sure hope Summit Entertainment follows up on this one! ( )

So schnell kann es gehen... und was für ein wunderbares Buch! Ich mag die Langsamkeit, die Beschreibungen der Uhr, der Attraktionen...
Anfangs habe ich mich mit den Zeitsprüngen schwer getan, sowas kann ich besser lesen als hören, glaube ich. Aber Matthias Brand liest ganz wunderbar, fast schwerelos schweben die Figuren und die Zeitstränge aufeinander zu. Die Entwicklung des Zirkus schreitet ebenso voran wie die Künste von Celia und Marco, alles ist mit allem verwoben.
Mich hat das Buch sehr verzaubert, 5 Sterne dafür! ( )

From its mysterious opening line—“The circus arrives without warning”—to the fantastical (and circular) ending, The Night Circus is sure to cast a spell on all her readers. Reading this book is like listening to someone describe their web-tangled dream: interesting, beautiful, imaginative, and, at parts, even a little confusing. Reading this book is like slipping into a black-silky midnight sky full of sparkling stars—a celestial dreamworld far away from wakefulness. This book is about secret games with hidden rules, deceptive appearances and unknown players, dark meetings and musings, but, above all, it’s about the magic of possibilities and dreams and kindred spirits.

More than the atmospheric setting, it’s the cast of alchemical characters—so many characters—each more eccentric than the last, that make this story so memorable: one that will stay with you long after the tented-show is over. And while the first part of the book moves a bit slowly with a detailed introduction of each character who plays a role in the circus, the mystique shrouding these characters moves to genuine, spellbinding captivation. The star-crossed lovers, shadowed Marco and center-stage Celia, are the centripetal force of the plot; however, each member of the circus shines just as brightly as Marco’s bonfire. There are the mysterious monsters: Alexander and Hector, the morally questionable teachers, one without a shadow and one without a physical form. There are the unusual and unexpected proprietors: obsessive Chandresh with his midnight dinners and knife-throwing hobbies and kind Bailey with his sense of duty battling his keen imagination. There are the tragic players: clockmaker Herr Thiessen, devoted to the circus, Celia, and secret dreamers; and curious Lainey; and clairvoyant Isobel (who has some serious Éponine allusions). There are so many more—each purposeful and enchanting in their own way. And all of them—these Night Circus pawns—are caught in the cogs of an illusive dreamscape where they learn an important lesson: Despite control and trickery and illusion and magic, fate is not controllable. All actions have consequences. But all actions motivated by love bring the best endings. Sometimes without any warning at all. ( )

This book has a great descriptions which lets the reader really picture the setting of this rather surreal circus. However the story dragged in places, and the author's depiction of time can be rather confusing at time. The style is readable, but the story does not have a satisfying ending. ( )