The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

Everyone knows that the circus is magic, but Le Cirque des Reves is more magic than most. It is the setting for a duel, for a love affair and for a game that pulls thousands into its orbit, and puts lives at risk. It is a story of the unwisdom of the wise, and the ability of the ordinary to rescue the extraordinary, and a story of the fragility of magic when two wizards enter a competition just to prove a point.

Extract
The rooms hidden behind the multitude of tents in Le Cirque des Reves are a stark contrast to the black and white of the circus. Alive with color. Warm with glowing amber lamps.
The space kept by the Murray twins is particularly vivid. A kaleidoscope of color, blazing with carmine and coral and canary, so much so that the entire room appears to be on fire, dotted with fluffy kittens dark as soot and bright as sparks.
It is occasionally suggested that the twins should be sent to boarding school to receive a proper education, but their parents insist they learn more from living with such a diverse company and traveling the globe than they would confined by schoolrooms and books
Parallels
  • Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
  • Hy Brasil by Margaret Elphinstone
  • Glenfarron by Jonathan Falla