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 The sun disappears
completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to
twilight. The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling
feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to
pass the evening…First, there is a popping sound. It is barely audible over the
wind and conversation. A soft noise like a kettle about to boil for tea. Then
comes the light. All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though
the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies.
The Circus of Dreams is open. As night falls, the gates
part, and the crowd makes its way through the winding tents marveling in every
direction. Shades of black and white compose a labyrinth of tents just waiting
to be explored. This circus is unlike any you’ve every experienced, breathing
in not just the welcoming aroma of fresh caramel apples and popping corn, but
also a distinct feeling deep within of magic.
Walking down illuminated paths, you come to find the many
acts of the circus. A fully tattooed woman bends upon a wire. Stretching and spinning,
the contortionist moves above the crowed, faces of awe filling the room. The
next tent over reveals animals that can only be described as beasts circling
their trainer in the center of the tent. The crowd gasps as one makes a lunge,
only to be quickly reprimanded by its authoritative controller.
The circus is stimulating in every way possible. Every smell
is intriguing, every sight leaves you excited to explore. You walk around for
hours, though it feels like only brief moments, continuing to fall deeper into
the magic of the circus. The frigid cold on the other side of the gate feels a
world away as you explore the many tents, and you never once think about the
world on the other side.
While you are enticed by the world of dreamers, you never
realize that the circus itself is not what matters most. Les Cirque des Rêves
is only the setting for a competition of magic that will change the lives of
two illusionists forever. Both Celia and Marco have studied their powers since
childhood, both living very unique lives, never knowing the other exists. Both
then, in different manners, find their way to the Circus of Dreams, and begin
to set the duel in motion. Celia and Marco come to understand that they have a
deep connection and use the circus to discover what it really means.
The Night Circus is an artfully written story not only about
two young illusionists that face a very difficult fate, but about a magical
world that any reader would love to fall into. Though the story is focused
around Celia and Marco’s magical duel, the world of the circus brings
challenges all its own. Celia and Marco must find a way to end the duel which
has plagued them all their lives while still keeping the circus intact.
(Ruth, The Loft)
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