Ah. The Night Circus. This book was just what I needed right now. I even started another book, but just couldn’t get into it. I needed something magical. Something light and beautiful and I found it.

“The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern was a lovely book. When it was recommended to me, I was told that it was like Harry Potter for adults. Now, first of all, Harry Potter is for everyone. Secondly, this book was similar in that it was a book full of magic, but that’s about it.

Basically, this book is about two magicians/illusionists/manipulators, who both train proteges to compete against each other. It is a competition to prove which method of magic is the best. The competitors are pitted against each other and their forum is… the night circus. The characters don’t directly attack each other; they compete by trying to create something more magical than their opponent in the circus.

Which means, this is one circus you would really want to visit. The descriptions of the various tents and the magical things you find inside are by far the best part of the book. Gardens made entirely from ice, carosels where you can feel the breathing of the magical animal you are sitting on, and dozens of other wonders that I don’t want to spoil for you.

In the words of Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

I would give just about anything for the night circus to be real and to be able to visit. If it was real, I would be a “revuer”. In the book, the circus is called “Le Cirque des Reves”, which is French for “The Circus of Dreams”. The revuers (or “dreamers”) are the people who visited the circus and fell so in love with it that they follow the circus around. (Which is challenging considering the circus seems to just appear and disappear randomly in different cities. It is magic after all.) They form a society to speak about the wonders that they encounter there. These guys were serious fans. I want to be one.

So in addition to the beautiful circus that you get to wander through, there is a nice amount of drama and backstory and a tale of star-crossed lovers, which always makes for good literary intrigue. It wasn’t my favorite plot ever, but it kept the book going and the magic made the book sparkle.

This is a perfect winter read to help perk up the spirit and the soul. Check it out.