Week 11 Fantasy

Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus: A Novel. New York: Doubleday, 2011. Print.

Synopsis:

Two magicians in an ancient rivalry pit their pupils against one another. Celia is the daughter of one magician.  The other magician rescues Marco from the orphanage.  When their training is complete, Celia and Marco test their magic skills against one another.  The chosen venue is a circus that benefits from their magic.  The circus is filled with mystery and intrigue and exhibits that are magical. Marco and Celia originally do not know who their opponent is.  But, they eventually find each other out.  Their magic builds on each other.  They fall in love.  They learn the awful truth that the contest between them ends when one of them dies.  They devise a plan to be together forever while at the same time allowing the circus to continue to be the magical and mysterious place that it is. 

Appeal Factors:

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Tone: Atmospheric, Romantic

Writing Style: Lush

Audience: Young Adults, Adults

If you like The Night Circus you may like these titles…

• Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The shadow of the wind 
• Kathe Koja, Under the poppy 
• Alice Hoffman, The Museum of Extraordinary Things 
• Thomas Tryon, Night magic 
• Christopher Priest, The prestige 

If you like Erin Morgenstern you may like these authors…. 

• Susanna Clark
• Lev Grossman 
• Patrick Rothfuss
• Maria V. Snyder 
• Carol Berg

Characteristics of Fantasy:

• Magic is essential to the story
• Set on earth
• May be contemporary or historical
• Magic may not be visible to everyone
• Lush descriptive writing
• Pace of the story builds over time
• Appeals to emotions
• Focus on relationships
• Conflict between good and evil
• Good generally prevails