Soooooo this book is all about atmosphere. It's beautifully conceived, and the author is clearly super-creative, which I am... not. At all. This is why I majored in art history instead of art. I like the scribblings and paint splashings of other people, but not my own.
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Pretty sure this is how Raych's Sister of the Art paints. |
This is how I feel criticizing highly imaginative work. But someone's got to before Pinterest goes all crazy with The Night Circus-themed weddings, y'know? Oh, wait...
With all of that said, I feel like it was missing... something. Like maybe actual main characters? The Circus itself was uh-mazing, and all the secondaries were wonderfully realized, and the whole thing just oooooozed imagination like... I dunno because I'm not imaginative.
But I didn't dig the love story, ducklings, and I don't know why because I luuuurve a good tragic love story. Except it wasn't tragic and I felt like the lovers didn't really love one another so much as they loved their images of one another, and that always ends in tears.
I am totally That Girl who Side-Eyed this book.
6.5 of 11 flaming cauldrons full of ghosts
What Red Read 121p · 649 weeks ago
I did really like the book once I accepted it's all atmosphere and some people flitting about the scenery.
Excellent use of gifs by the way. Superb.
Tikabelle 87p · 649 weeks ago
This book was so pretty, but I don't think it'll hold up in the canon of Great Authorial Feats of 2012, if you know what I mean.
readingrambo 112p · 649 weeks ago
I echo Red's approbation of the gifs. They were excellent. Also the sculpey story.
Tikabelle 87p · 649 weeks ago
Sculpey was clearly not my brand of awesome. I prefer nit-picky creative things like knitting where I'm just following a pattern. I bet I'd be awesome at origami.
Laura · 649 weeks ago
Tikabelle 87p · 649 weeks ago
Except maybe the boy who became the head of the circus. He was lovely.
june79 16p · 649 weeks ago
Aw, sorry to hear that you felt it was blah. We can't all love the same books, can we :s I admit it was way more about the atmosphere than the actual story. But I still lurved it!
Tikabelle 87p · 649 weeks ago
I liked the book while I was reading it! And then afterward I was all, "wait.. WHAT happened?" Then again, if someone made me a pool where I could leave my sorrow, I'd jump into a cauldron of magic whatsits, too! (that part made me tear up a little)
briefraser 73p · 649 weeks ago
Tikabelle 87p · 649 weeks ago
I do look forward to reading more Morgenstern as she matures as an author. As first novels go, this was is pretty damn impressive.
briefraser 73p · 649 weeks ago