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The Night Circus

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The Night Circus

By: Erin Morgenstern
Narrated by: Jim Dale
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE TIKTOK SENSATION

Discover the million-copy bestselling fantasy read.

The circus arrives without warning. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

Against the grey sky the towering tents are striped black and white. A sign hanging upon an iron gates reads:

Opens at Nightfall
Closes at Dawn

Full of breath-taking amazements and open only at night, Le Cirque des Rêves seems to cast a spell over all who wander its circular paths. But behind the glittering acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists a fierce competition is underway.

Celia and Marco are two young magicians who have been trained since childhood for a deadly duel. With the lives of everyone at the Circus of Dreams at stake, they must test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love.

'The only response to this novel is simply: wow. It is a breath-taking feat of imagination, a flight of fancy that pulls you in and wraps you up in its spell' The Times

© Erin Morgenstern 2011 (P) Penguin Audio 2011

 Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Magical Realism Romance Romantasy Women's Fiction Classics Magic Users Magic Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

Lush, evocative, dreamlike...a magical, coming-of-age story
Dark and dreamy; a captivating love story
The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for. This is a marvelous book
Enchanting, and affecting... A strikingly beautiful world, in spite of its darkness
Dazzling
An extraordinary blend of dream and nightmare will take you on a magical journey (Viv Groskop)
Deliciously inventive... Don't imagine this is a light, frothy tale. For all her humorous touches, Morgernstern...has produced something darker than night
The only response to this novel is simply: wow. It is a breathtaking feat of imagination, a flight of fancy that pulls you in and wraps you up in its spell
Charming, magical, mysterious, enthralling
Lushly imagined, extremely charming and very, very readable
All stars
Most relevant
I should admit to a little bias in this review because The Night Circus is one of my all-time favourite books and I feel that this audiobook does do it justice.

It is a love story above all else, but a love story on many levels. A love story between a man and a woman, a love story between the performers and their circus, a love story between the circus and its ardent fans. And then there is the magic. To say more would start to give too much away but it is a fantastical tale written fantastically well.

If I were to quibble with anything about this audiobook it with the performance. Jim Dale does read it beautifully but, when you have previously read the book yourself, you tend to have an idea of how various characters sound. So to hear Prospero and Mr A.H. sound like two bickering Yorkshiremen is a bit of a surprise, especially when I had always considered Prospero to be from the opposite side of the Pond.

That aside, you would not go far wrong if you wish to immerse yourself in a magical fantasy where anything seems possible and the real world a disappointment in comparison.

The Magic Arrives Without Warning

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Wonderfully complex story, full of detail, clear pictures of the unusual, and a nice interweaving of times and dates that came together satisfyingly in the end. Some surprises, some predictability, but all in all a good holiday read. Except for the narrator, oh dear, he did the "ancient mage" voice with all the weight of dusty centuries in it, but the young men, female and the childrens voices were quite dreadfully croaky. If you can get past the narrator you'll enjoy the story for its own sake.

My kind of circus

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This was a great book with a really good narration. I thoroughly enjoyed the black and white world of the Night Circus. The imagery was very well described and it is well written - i found it mysterious and utterly compelling!

Magical imagery and vivid characters

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A beautiful love story, truly magical.
Generally well read except the twins Irish accent was annoying.

One of my favourite books ever!

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the story is nothing special but the voice performances by Jim Dale are great fun and kept me listening.
The different view points are a nice touch but poorly used in some parts, which is a shame.
still very likeable.

likeable and Jim Dale gives it a laugh

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Truly inmersive story with well defined characters and a plot full of imaginative flare and emotion. I went through the story in a record time. I was fascinated from beginning to end

Marvelous

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This book has to be one of the best books written for a very long time. It is simply magical and so beautifully woven and I couldn't put it down. Readers will feel about this story the same as the characters in the story feel about the Circus; enraptured! I would recommend this to anyone!

Mesmerising

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Any additional comments?


What a perfect tagline. ‘The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.’

I haven’t been this hooked by a book in years. I devoured the audio, and once finished was ready to start again.

The incredible detail sucked me into the circus; it felt like I was there, walking around at night experiencing all the unbelievable performances, enchanted by all that is on offer. And the storyline that holds it all together was extremely compelling; although there is a love story at the heart of the book it isn’t overpowering.

The Night Circus was recommended to me by a friend who knows just how active my imagination is, and this book fed it perfectly. It is now my most recommended book and I urge anyone with a love for mystery, magic, and beautiful descriptions to give it a go.

Get lost in the magic

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Any additional comments?

I normally love all my audible books but i really struggled with this one. The detailed description of the circus and the different tents seemed to take prominence to the storyline. I found myself drifting off & not paying enough attention then when tuning back in realising I'd not really missed very much. I felt Jim Dale over-acted every paragraph - his narration reminded me of the Spitting Image puppet who made a drama out of everything (it was either John Gielgud or Lawrence Olivier) - apologies to the youngsters who don't have a clue what I'm talking about!!

Not for me

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I bought this on sale as a 'oh why not' and ended up loving it. the imagery and the characters are very engaging - as is the whole competition! I would highly recommend.

I love this book!

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