Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus 
Erin Morgenstern
Published September 13th 2011 by Doubleday

My rating:      
The Night Circus is a beautifully written novel which captured my interest from the first sentence. “The Circus arrives without warning.” I had some moments of concern because of the various points of view. Yet, Morgenstern’s well crafted fairy tale remained uncluttered despite the varied cast of characters.

The Circus itself becomes a beloved character, and as the reader I was often more concerned for the wellbeing of the circus than for some of the characters. The novel tells the story of Celia and Marco as they are bound by a magical contract which plays out in a mysterious competition.  The rules of this competition are mostly unrevealed to the reader as well as the various characters. Morgenstern successfully convinces the reader that the details of the competition are unimportant.  Yet at the same time I am concerned for the players and the eventual outcome.

The circus is held together by magic, but for the most part the patrons have either convinced themselves that it is a well crafted illusion, or they blindly accept and embrace the wonders of the circus not wanting to understand any of the mysteries.  

The Night Circus is nonlinear but was surprisingly easy to follow.  There were even occasional chapters that dared to use the risky 2nd person point of view. Typically, I find this narrative device to be ineffective and generally obnoxious. Somehow she pulled it off, and it brought the reader even deeper into the various tents of the Circus. The narratives were serene, yet almost suggestive, as if the reader was being lead through the tents by a hypnotist. There are several chapters woven through the novel that only serve to describe specific tents in the circus. The book was as enjoyable as the circus, Morgenstern brings the reader into the haunting and complex lives of the circus member, events are played out, but she never pulls back the curtain to reveal some of the more mysterious elements.  I wholeheartedly accept Morgenstern's magic and hope to see more from this author.

I have learned that Summit Entertainment has the film rights.  This is also the company that are responsible for the Twilight movies.  So needless to say I'm concerned that they will turn this novel into a steaming pile.  The visuals in the novel are stunning, so I hope that they can turn the film into something even more beautiful.  I worry that they will twist the classic Alice in Wonderland appeal into something more harsh and Burtonesque.  Guess I will have to wait and see.

Star Rating System

All of my book reviews use a basic five star ratings system.  I have used this system for a couple of hundred books that I've read on goodreads.  Five stars means the book is spectacular, and one star means that book seriously blew.  Star ratings two, three and four are more nuanced.  Of course all ratings are subjective, because they are just personal opinions.  And you know what they say about opinions ______  Fill in the blank with your favorite expression.

  Tremendous, spectacular and throw in any other extremely pleased superlative. I do not give these out lightly.  They are the books that impact and resonate with me for a long time after reading. I am left with nothing to criticize, and everything to praise.

Better than most.  They are missing that elusive magical element which prevents them from achieving that five star rating. Overall, I was impressed by the novel and will think back fondly on the characters or writing in the future.

Good. Yes this is a boring description. But there was nothing truly wrong or horrible about this book; but on the other hand, it wasn't compelling.  I enjoyed the author's world and do not regret the hours spent reading, but Im also ready to move onto the next book.

Did not like it; almost as simple as that.  I can count the number of times that I did not finish a book.  I want the author to turn the car around and get back on course, but many times they don't.  There is usually some sort of inconsistency in the nature of the characters, or the writing is nothing shy of painful.  Whatever the reason, I can tell you exactly why I'm not a fan.

Total Mess!  The book was horrible and a total waste of time.  The book has zero redeeming qualities.  I am angry for wasting my time on this book, and feel obligated to sound the alarm and warn as many people as possible to save their valuable time and skip this disaster.  I don't like hating on a book.  I know that the writer spent countless hours crafting their manuscripts, so it's like telling a parent their baby is a hideous monster.  But sometimes people make really ugly babies.

Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
Published April 4th 2006 by Mariner Books (first published January 1st 2005)

My rating:      

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is full of beautiful contradictions: finding and losing, loving and hating, the spaces between something and nothing, a boy dressed in all white looking for Black, creating a voice while keeping silent, looking back at life while trying to move forward.

The primary narrator is a 9 year old boy named Oskar. I could describe him as curious, precocious but he's just plain odd. He wears all white, learns French and has numerous characteristic that should make him totally unrealistic. Yet Jonathan Safran Foer makes him like able and somehow relatable. His father died in one of the towers in 9/11. Oskar grieves for his father, and the book is about how he searches for ways to connect with him. Other narrators include Oskar's grandparents who have also experienced an unspeakable loss. The author explores life and grief in a deeply powerful way.

I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. However now after reading the novel, I have zero desire to see the film. The novel was visually powerful: the changes in fonts, dialogue format and photos. The powerful use of the photos made me cry, and not the blink away tears kind, but the take my glasses off and redo my makeup kind of tears. I'm not sure what the English professors would call this particular style, hyper realism, post modern or whatever; but I enjoyed the non traditional structure. I wouldn't want to read a large amount of novels like this because it might loose its power.

I am emotionally exhausted after reading this novel, but grateful to Safran Foer for giving me the experience.

Review: The Domino Men

The Domino Men 
Jonathan Barnes
Published February 1st 2009 by William Morrow (first published February 21st 2008)
My rating:      

The Domino Men is the story of poor Henry Lamb. He leads a seemingly drab life until the day he visits his grandfather who fell into a coma. A window washer falls from the hospital and tells him, “The answer is yes.” From this point on it is a fast pace roller-coaster of a novel. Henry is whisked away by an organization that his grandfather worked for, and leaps from adventure into adventure. Henry is the key pawn to saving London. There has been a war waged between the House of Windsor and the people of London for over 200 years. And it has to end.

The novel has a truly bizarre cast of characters. Henry is our hero, and the events mostly play out from his first person POV, there are exceptions to this because the manuscript is periodically hijacked by the loyalists from the Royal Family.

I am not sure what Barnes intended, but Henry Lamb often seemed pathetic. Or perhaps he lacked the same creativity and outlandishness that the other characters possess. But then again this is my problem with some moves – the villains are far more entertaining. The book’s namesake are two of the villain’s in the novel. The Domino Men AKA the Prefects, AKA Hawker and Boone are a pair of disturbingly twisted tweedle-dee tweedle-dumb-esque grown men who dress like school boys and take maniacal pleasure in torturing and reeking total havoc.

I found the novel to go from grotesque to humorous and then back again. It’s a strange place to be; yet Barnes pulls this off quite well. It’s a truly bizarre ride, but nevertheless I did enjoy it.

Why This Blog?

As with any blog, this is a self indulgent form of expression.  I have always been an avid reader, and have voraciously consumed all things literary.  You remember that nerdy little girl with glasses who spent recess at the picnic table with her nose in a book while the rest of the class played kickball; that was me.  Well I’ve grown up now, but my appetite for books hasn’t really changed since I read my first book, A Pig Can Jig when I was four. I've gone from glasses to contacts and back again and own this t-shirt.  It is lovely and faded.  I wore it proudly to book club a few times, then thought better of it. I decided that it might be the equivalent to the concert rule. You can love the band and buy the t-shirt, but you can't wear a shirt of the band to their own concert. It just comes across as weird and needy.

It is difficult for me to classify or describe my taste in books. I occasionally enjoy best sellers, but mostly keep my interests in that hard to define category. It wasn't as if I had a go-to section in the bookstore. I suspect I'm not in the minority. I enjoy an array of topics and categories.  I like a little bit of every genre with the exception of chick-lit and airport paperback novels. There will not be any reviews of the latest James Patterson. I prefer books with some literary merit; but I also enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, spiritual, best sellers, classic (but hate Victorians), and what ever else piques my interest. Think of it as a well balanced diet. A friend did point out an unusual number of books on my goodreads shelf with the word "dead" in the title. But who doesn't enjoy a little something dark and twisty, once in a while.  I have a soft spot for the Sookie Stackhouse Vampire novels, but can only do it for so long otherwise it's like trying to live on Halloween candy.

I hope to share my bookish musings and reviews with others and encourage similar and dissenting points of views.