516 pages
"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 Reves, 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. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love--a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
"True love or not, 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." --from the publisher
What a remarkable idea for a story! Morgenstern develops the fantasy world and her characters very well. The bad news is that the book is too long. There are a hundred or so pages in the middle that could have been deleted without affecting the story. I almost gave up on it entirely because very little was happening. On a whim I decided to read the ending. Lo and behold I found it intriguing so I went back and finished the tale. I'm glad I did.
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