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Introduction to The Literary Review of Le Cirque des Rêves

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The Night Circus is written by Erin Morgenstern and published in 2011. 2011 was also the year the last Harry Potter movie was released and authors and studio executives were searching for the next big thing that could replace Harry Potter and the franchise. Due to this, it is common to see comparisons of The Night Circus to Harry Potter. I do find this to be somewhat of an unfair comparison. One of the major differences is how they incorporate magic into the story. Both books are speculative fiction but The Night Circus provides a more flawed and dangerous view of magic in contrast to the more fanciful notion of magic in Harry Potter. Magic takes training, study and care.  Those who know magic must practice in a way that allows them to blend in with the normal people. The only separation they have is when people attend their shows or enter the dream like world of the night circus. 

Another thing that is great about this book is the realism not only in the presentation of magic but also in the characters and themes. Not any one character, protagonist or antagonist, could be classified as pure evil or good. No one was really a true hero or villain, but more antiheroes with both good and bad traits. This is what is seen in real life, same with themes of defining love and affection and destiny vs. choice in one’s future. All of these things are well conveyed in the writing style of Erin Morgenstern including her word choice. She uses words like exsanguinated and conflagration that are somewhat lofty and unreal.

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Morgenstern takes influence from Lewis Carroll and has stated “I got tired of living in Alice’s Wonderland and decided to build some of my own.” This goes well with how she takes the themes of fairy tales and turns them on their head along with the images they inspire. Just like fairy tales inspire parties and a large following, people still throw a black and white Le Cirque de Rêves themed party whenever possible. 


The flawed characters, the realism, and her inspiration of wonder are just a few reasons as to why I love The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. In the next few blog post I will to elaborate on the summary,  theme, and a few symbols; there will also be a comparative analysis to A Monster Calls.

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