Pages

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern - Kobo

I want this story. Your story. The tale of what brought us to this place, in these chairs, with this wine. I don't want a story you create from here” - he taps his temple with his finger - “I want one that is here.” He lets his hand hover over his heart for a moment before sitting back in his chair. (The man in the grey suit).

I decided right away there would be two ways to read The Night Circus: as it is - an exceptionally creative and visual story – and/or as a portrayed journey with hidden messages. Everything is like this (loaded with symbolism), and in this case it seemed intended.

The plot of The Night Circus is unique and I loved it right from the opening: The circus arrives without warning.

Opens at Nightfall
Closes at Dawn.

A mysterious black and white circus – Le Cirque des Reves - travels around the world, materializing out of nowhere.  Two magicians/illusionists – Celia and Marco – are destined to compete. Only one can win. Celia has been trained rather harshly, in a physical manner, making her very strong (or else she would've been physically harmed), and Marco has been educated well since a young age and is prepared to win. Their battle turns into a romance – one that holds the entire circus together. As things start to crumble, and as the circus experiences interference, Celia and Marco must come up with a plan to keep it going - without only one of them coming out a winner.

There's a lot more to The Night Circus than I initially processed, I sensed. This made it exciting. I didn't spend time analyzing to figure out what all the numbers, symbols, and chapter names, mean (even though I found these details interesting) - I just wanted to enjoy the experience and see what I got out of it, intuitively.

By chapter: Tete-a-Tete: London, August 1896, I decided, to me, this novel is about polarities, and reflection, or better still, balance, as well as the possibilities and creation that come out of this. It made me feel, or reminded me, that anything can be materialized at will - once the belief in it is mastered and skill, strengthened (although, in it it is said that the key is endurance: “Such pain is not lived with. It is only endured...”). What we want to be will be materialized or created (choose your own illusion). Of course others have their own ideas about this, respectfully, and so it is a bit of a game, it seems – a circus.

I hope one day a movie will do it justice. I would love to see it!  Below are a few inspirational illustrations I found on the internet that are similar to how I pictured the characters.

No comments: