Le Cirque des Rêves is an unusual circus. It arrives seemingly out of the blue, opens only at night and is entirely black and white with shades of gray. But lets start at the beginning, before the circus.
Celia is the daughter of a famous illusionist. Little do people know real magic is at work here not purely illusions. When Celia is six she is bound to a game being played out between her father and a mysterious man in grey. This man sets out to find a pawn of his own in an orphan named Marco. Both children are bound by magical rings to play out the game until a winner comes forth.
The children grow up with no knowledge of each other except that their competitor is out there somewhere. Marco begins working as an assistant for an extravagant man who has plans for a new type of circus. This circus becomes the arena for the game. Celia auditions for the part of "illusionist" and it is then that Marco realizes who his competitor is. Since he cannot travel with the circus Marco implores his girlfriend, the fortune teller, to keep tabs on Celia for him. Overtime Celia finally finds out who her opponent is. Even though they are fighting against each other, the two soon fall in love.
Both Marco and Celia work to find ways out of the binds of the game. Celia learns that winning means the loser will die and because of this she tries in vain to distance herself from Marco.
Now I really don't want to give away the ending of this book. I already feel I have said too much. The Night Circus is an excellent read with tons of whimsy and mystery I urge you to read it if you haven't already done so!
Quotes:
“I am tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do.”
“Celia, wait,” Marco says, standing but not moving closer to her. “You are breaking my heart. You told me once that I reminded you of your father. That you never wanted to suffer the way your mother did for him, but you are doing exactly that to me. You keep leaving me. You leave me longing for you again and again when I would give anything for you to stay, and it is killing me.”
“It has to kill one of us,” Celia says quietly.”
