The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

How ironic that a young woman whose name translates "Morningstar' has written such a magical tale about the night.  Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus is an enthralling tale of love, twisted ambition, mystery and obsession, but mostly it's a tale of controlling one's dreams, visions and future. All these themes are wrapped up in a story about a magical circus that appears mysteriously at the turn of the 20th century and travels the world, attracting a cast of really memorable characters.

Celia and Marco are two very talented and sensitive young people taken into tutelage under older and far more experienced teachers ... magicians, illusionists, one might say, madmen. They are bonded at a young age to be in competition with each other. BUT WHY? AND HOW?

The Night Circus becomes the playing field for these two to begin molding a surreal and completely entrancing experience for the public, a circus like no other. This circus magically appears in places all over the world. It opens its gate at night and closes at dawn. Its troupe of artists include the most talented of acrobats, illusionists, fortunetellers, lion tamers and animal trainers. The characters become intertwined in their circus lives, as Celia and Marco produce tent after tent of increasingly intricate magical experience for circus-goers. What begins as a way for them to hone their considerable talents becomes a glorious collaboration of love. BUT ... and that's a big but ... their mentors have had other plans for their future and that future has no place for them to be together. One must extinguish the other in some fashion.

The fate of The Night Circus rests in how Marco and Celia respond to this more urgent challenge. They have come to cherish their mates in the circus troupe, respect and care for the public and the legions of reveurs (dreamers) who follow the circus from place to place. How can they put this warped challenge to rest and save the circus?

I loved this read. It's a debut book by Ms. Morgenstern and is soon to be a motion picture with a proposed fall 2015 release. I think I will be glad that I read the book before seeing the movie. There is so much depth and 'premise' to the words of her story that I frankly have problems envisioning how it will be made visual and how dialogue will be able to convey the intricacy of the story. I fear it will lose much of the magic of the novel.  The settings are so incredibly rich in imagination that each reader is bound to have strong images in mind. The characters, too, are well described and in the case of the main characters well-developed so seeing a movie casting director's vision may be disturbing when one has one's own concept of the character. And just how can that magical circus clock of Herr Thiessen's be conveyed through film ? I just don't know ... but I suppose time will tell.

This is the first book reaction linked with this year's RIP X literary event. See details at The Estella Society blog to read other reactions/reviews and/or to join with other lovers of Gothic, mystery, horror,  and fantasy genres.

A Spooky Reading Challenge - R.I.P. IX

Okay, I'm up for this! Fall is here and before you know it Halloween will be knocking on our doors and rattling the window latches. Leave it to Carl to spur me to dig a bit into the murky, muddy, malevolent depths of the genres of fantasy, horror, mystery, Gothic romance, suspense, and real-life non-fiction mayhem. His seasonal literary challenge is called R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril and it runs through September and October. Visit his site called Stainless Steel Droppings  (cursor over blog title = link to site) to read about all the options for participating in this literary blogshare!

I am always impressed by Carl's level of preparation for his literary events. The badges are clever and really beautiful. He is always diligent in catching up with his participants. His themes are always fun and wide open to different readers' interpretations. To boot, he always promotes good dialogue between his various participants.

I'm opting to participate on a few levels. Thus far, I have an audio version of Joe Hill's haunting thriller called Heart-Shaped Box, Dennis Lehane's creepy psychological cop story called Shutter Island, a collection of spooky short stories by Joe Hill called 20th Century Ghosts, and finally a movie edition of Susan Hill's novel called The Woman in Black that stars Daniel Radcliffe. These titles and the movie should give me a few creeps ... I'm also looking for a real-life story that will creep me out. Suggestions anyone? I've already read Helter Skelter, In Cold Blood, and The Devil in the White City ...

So ... that's my scary reading list for the next couple months. What are you planning to check out as Halloween approaches? Check out Carl's blog to see about this neat reading share!

The Dreaming Damozel - Mollie Hardwick

I recently watched a BBC mini-series about the Pre-Raphaelite art movement of Victorian England. It was a bawdy series that much romanticized the bohemian lifestyle of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and a cast of incidental characters that joined the brotherhood, as it grew in style and influence. Coming away from the viewing, I was curious about one of the models that became central to several of Rossetti's paintings - Lizzie Siddal.

In doing a bit of on-line poking, I found this mystery novel by Mollie Hardwick. It's funny how one thing leads to another when one pokes about on-line! Mollie Hardwick wrote extensively during the second half of the 20th century. She is, perhaps, best known for penning the novel adaptations of the popular BBC series 'Upstairs, Downstairs' - Masterpiece Theatre's 'early version' of the fabulously popular 'Downton Abbey'.

Anyway ... in addition to those novels, Mrs Hardwick also wrote a series of detective novels called the Doran Fairweather series. The Dreaming Damozel is the sixth in the series. The book centers around Doran, an antiques dealer whose shop is in transition. Her long-time partner has departed for life in London and a new career. Her shop is languishing in a 'stale antiques market' and she is restless to take the business to a different level. Poking about an estate sale, she comes upon a small oil painting that is strangely reminiscent of the paintings done by Dante Gabriel Rossetti at the time that Lizzie Siddal was beginning her relationship with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Ophelia - J.E. Millais

Of course, Doran is intrigued and as the plot develops, strange events occur that seem linked in a sinister way. Doran and her husband are drawn into a mystery that revolves around a dead woman found floating in the local river who is dressed in much the same way as the 'Ophelia' of Millais' painting, a chance contact who would like Doran to act as selling agent for a Rossetti piece that looks to be a study for one of his more famous paintings, a chance meeting with a young textile expert at a party in London, a consultation with a retired homicide detective living in Doran's village ... the plot thickens!

Like all stylized detective novels, these series of events build and tension increases to a frantic (as frantic as these types of stories ever get) point. Being new to the genre niche, I'm having fun reading Hardwick's brand of British mystery. I love the British 'voice' within the writing of Hardwick and within the dialogue she gives her characters. I also am happy to learn a little bit more about the art of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and its ties to early photography and photo-realism. A fun read that has helped while away a pleasant summer morning!

Mollie Hardwick

1915-2003