Le Cirque des Rêves

Erin Morgenstern's 2011 fantasy novel The Night Circus is one of those books that sat on my shelf for years before it made its way to the top of my reading pile. I had heard a lot about the book: comparisons to Harry Potter and Twilight were common, though I think that Night Circus stands in different crowds. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I'd consider it a YA novel (Morgenstern doesn't) even if it sort of feels like one at times. But there is one thing it has in common with Harry Potter: both books benefit from a memorable setting.

Le Cirque des Rêves ("The Circus of Dreams") only opens at night, it only allows its tents and performers to use the colours black and white, and it moves from city to city without announcement or warning. Some of these things may not make sense from a business standpoint, but they're odd enough to make the circus interesting without tripping into "wacky" territory. Yet it's Morgenstern's descriptions of the circus that make it almost tangible. Some prose just feels like it's a handful of iambs away from bursting into poetry, and The Night Circus is filled with exactly that sort of descriptive power.

A big part of Le Cirque des Rêves charm (both in- and out-of universe) is that it uses real magic disguised as fake magic. The plot (because plots are always fashionable in a novel, however excellent the setting and prose) revolves around a contest between two magicians, Celia and Marco, who keep adding tents and attractions to the circus, partially to outdo their rival but mostly to impress/seduce them. Although both are capable of impossible Potter-type spells, stuff involving illusions and telekinesis, they keep their circus attractions at a level that seems possible to the Muggles. Highlights include: a bonfire that changes colour as more flames are added to it, a garden made of ice that never melts, and mirrors whose reflections can add things that are not there or remove things that are. People turning into cats or travelling through time are obviously pure fantasy, but this stuff is just subtle enough to seem possible. I consider this approach the fantasy equivalent of hard science fiction. I don't know if I'd say it's better than more outright magical fantasy, but I certainly think it has its charm, because the awe isn't as diluted by skepticism.