My Google Diary for The Night Circus

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern
Format: select

 

When I read, I ask a LOT of questions. Here’s some stuff I searched or wondered about while reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

From my review: 

 I loved the twist on magic.  It was mystical, dreamlike, and mysterious but at the same time there was a feeling that magic could be learned by everyone if you could really see the world without judgement.  And the reason that magic has slowly disappeared is because there are no more secrets anymore.  The idea of the magic contained in secrets made me think about if The Night Circus had a modern setting, it wouldn’t have had the same mystery and thrill to it.  The existence of twitter alone would have completely ruined the excitement and magic of the circus.  It made me realize that there really is magic in secrets … Read more

Characters

Propsero the Enchanter

Prospero is the name of the main character of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, who just happens to be a sorcerer….Hm….very interesting :) And he ironically learns his sorcery from books unlike the character in The Night Circus.  Another interesting little tidbit from The Tempest is an elemental who is freed from living in a tree.  Wow. Mind blown :) I haven’t read The Tempest (or even seen the play) but I really want to now! Also – hats off to anyone who can make nods to Shakespeare like that. (Source)

Man in the Gray Suit

SPOILER. Highlight text between brackets to read. {I totally think that Alexander aka the Man in the Gray Suit is Merlin! He doesn’t have a shadow and acts as if he has been around for a very long time.  I wish I had taken more notes to give specifics but it didn’t occur to me until the very end and I had to take it back to the library.  If you’ve read the book, what do you think.  Merlin or not?}

Poppet

Every time I imagined Poppet in my head, I saw the girl from Brave, but wearing awesome stripped leggings and boots.

Places

St. Pancras Station

 

I’m pretty sure all the train stations in London are magical.

Highgate Cemetery

It’s a beautiful and haunting place that is only mentioned in passing, but I think it fits so well with the feeling of The Night Circus that I looked it up anyway :)

I love this BBC tour of the Highgate Cemetery.

Fan Art

I was really inspired by Kami’s post featuring Ally Condie that included fan art, so I looked for The Night Circus fan art for my very favorite image from the book – The ship made of books.

Inspiration

In the Acknowledgements (which yes I read for every book), Erin mentioned Punchdrunk as inspiration for the circus.

So what is it?? This is from their site:

Since 2000, the company has pioneered a game changing form of immersive theatre in which roaming audiences experience epic storytelling inside sensory theatrical worlds. Blending classic texts, physical performance, award-winning design installation and unexpected sites, the company’s infectious format rejects the passive obedience usually expected of audiences.

So basically they are the closest thing you’ll get to The Night Circus in real life.  So cool!!!

Book Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZJiW2w1xdc