#chandresh

Blurb (adapted from Goodreads): The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. (...) The game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

What I liked

Setting and atmosphere, which this book does so, SO well. I have yet to find another of the kind. Erin’s writing style is not only captivating, but just descriptive enough to make you feel like you are there. And because, in my opinion, the main character in this book is in fact the circus itself, changing and being changed throughout the story, this atmosphere is really what this book is all about. I still cry whenever I think about it just because I can’t live those things and have the experiences described in the book;

Plot, which was, at least from my reading experience, so creative. Not only the competitive element that was considered between two magicians, but the fact that the setting is the circus itself, and that the competition is not even violent, but based on spectacle and demonstrations. I thought this was very cleverly conceived. I was intrigued throughout about it and even though I would’ve preferred the ending to drag for a little bit longer, I thought it was a well-realised plot and story;

Symbolism and mysticism, two elements that I enjoy so, so much, whether in real life or in books. I can tell that Erin does too, just by this book. First, this is mainly a competition between two magic and pedagogic philosophies, two schools of thought. Yup. Second, throughout the book we get these little snippets of spells and ancient rituals, of symbols and divination methods (e.g. tarot, start-reading...). Third, the concept of time itself in this book was great. And that was something that definitely would make me up my rating any day;

Slow-burn romance, and when I mean slow-burn, I mean it took them 15 years to even kiss! Believe me, I wanted more, I was craving it, but the romance only became more of a focus point halfway in the book, and I thought that was very cleverly managed. I believed the pull between the two characters, I do wish there had been more to make it even more believable, but I really like their romance;

Character dynamics, as the role each one ended up playing in the circus and in the overall plot was well-constructed, unpredictable and entertaining. There were moments when characters that I wouldn't expect to interact very well actually did, or at least their interactions carried such a punch that I was left bewildered (e.g. Isobel & Celia; Alexander and Prospero; Alexander and Widget, among many more).

What I didn’t like

Character development, as it was very underwritten. What I mean by this is that I don’t feel like I got to know any of the characters that well, perhaps because all of their ‘voices’ and thoughts muddled in my mind from the third-person omniscient perspective. Since we spend more time with the main characters, that does make them a little bit more distinguishable, but I still don’t feel like I completely understand them or their motivations. And because this is mainly a character-based novel, I understand how that can hinder others’ reading experience;

Timescale and time jumps, which in the end all come together and made more sense to me, but left me a bit confused throughout, as I was trying to keep up with everyone’s age, trying to understand why we were so far in the future in some scenes, etc.

What I took from it

A heightened sense of wonder, as this book just made me remember the magic in the world, and particularly in performances and spectacles or settings as the ones described. I think we all need to have something at least similar remind us of this once in a while;

A deeper interest in magic, like real-world theorisations and applications of magic, like symbols, rituals and tarot. I had been interested in it before, but thinking about this book just makes me want to pop out some notebook and draw a forest across the pages (Marco style);

The importance of home and of a chosen family, of cherishing those that accompany you along your path and of protecting special places;