The Debut: Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
RSSAngela Carstensen
Set in the late-19th century, Erin Morgenstern's first novel tells the story of two children, Celia and Marco, who are kept by two heartless men who care only about the competition between them. The children are isolated from the world and trained in magic and illusion. Meanwhile, a circus, Le Cirque des Rêves, appears without warning on the outskirts of cities around the world. Only open at night, the circus is filled with magic and theater, and each tent is an experience for the senses. Its attendees have no idea that it was created as the venue for a contest. I don't want to reveal too much about the story, or spoil it for those who haven't read it. But just like walking through the gates of Le Cirque des Rêves, opening this book begins a process of exploration, of both wonders and horrors. Suffice it to say, this is a perfect book for teens, who'll sympathize with Celia and Marco as the adults in their lives manipulate them. Can they escape their destinies and live as they wish? The Night Circus promises to be a huge hit. Summit Entertainment has already purchased its film rights, and David Heyman, who produced the Harry Potter movies, is reportedly eyeing the project. I recently caught up with Morgenstern and talked to her about her debut novel. When I finished reading The Night Circus, I had a strong feeling that I'd encountered something new, yet not foreign. It's such an accessible, entrancing story. What were some of the elements that influenced it? I'm tempted to say everything I've ever loved had an impact on the circus in one way or another, but certain influences were stronger than others. Book-wise there are shades of Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and Alan Lightman's Einstein's Dreams. Both book and film versions of The Prestige, lots of fine art including René Magritte, M. C. Escher, and Victorian-era engraving and illustration. Theater-wise, I was lucky enough to experience the immersive theater of a company called Punchdrunk while I was revising, and there are little homages to their production of Sleep No More in the circus itself. One of my favorite things is the short, self-contained chapters, each set in a clear time and place-and the suspense while waiting to find out how these threads ultimately connect. Did you always intend to use that format? I always intended to present the story in short, vignette-like chapters because I wanted the book to feel like the circus itself with its multitude of tents. Originally, it was a bit more nonlinear, but eventually it seemed clear that the best way to tell it was to have the overlapping time lines and let them grow closer as the story moved forward. How did you figure out the pacing? I found both the questions and revelations perfectly timed to be tantalizing, yet not frustrating. Mostly by accident, I think. I revised so much and wrote a great deal out of order, so the pacing was a result of putting all the pieces together in the sequence they insisted on and hoping for the best. I wrote the book predominantly in a marvelous program called Scrivener, with each chapter kept as a separate piece in folders divided by part, so I wasn't even sure how many pages were in each section most of the time. I focused on what needed to happen when plot-wise and based most of it on story-logic rather than focusing on pacing, but it seems to have worked. Theater plays such a big role in your story, perhaps as much as the circus or magic. Do you have a background in theater? I do. In fact, I have a degree in theater. I studied a little bit of everything, from acting and directing to lighting design, and I think that's reflected in the world of the circus. It's almost more of a theatrical experience dressed up in stripes than a proper circus. Is there significance to the black and white—with a splash of red—that appears throughout the book? The splash of red was always purposeful and significant, though what it signifies can be up for interpretation. I love the color combination of a pop of red against a black-and-white background, it seems to make the red seem even more red. I think in the context of the circus, the flashes of red serve as reminders of what's simmering just below the black and white: that passionate, dangerous, bloody crimson. The Night Circus's film rights have been optioned, and Failbetter Games is involved in a digital marketing campaign for the book. Plus, Jim Dale is narrating the audiobook version. How do you feel about leaving your story in others' hands? It's easier than I expected to have my story in so many other hands, because everyone working on it really seems to have a genuine respect for the material and fondness for the story. I don't have much control, but I have been and will continue to be involved in one way or another, and mostly I'm excited to see the results. I was able to visit the recording studio to see Jim Dale—who is absolutely lovely—reading and it was surprising and marvelous. It sounded intimately familiar and yet wonderfully new. His voice adds another level to the words, and I think the digital and film versions will have a similar effect. What were your favorite books as a teenager? Did you write back then? And are you surprised that The Night Circus is being strongly recommended to teens? Angela Carstensen is head librarian and an upper school librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City, and head of SLJ's blog "Adult Books for Teens," where you can read a review of The Night Circus in the August 16 post. A book trailer for The Night Circus is available on YouTube. This article originally appeared in School Library Journal's enewsletter SLJTeen. Subscribe here.
I am just old enough that I didn't have a proper YA section when I was a teenager, so I was mostly reading Stephen King and a lot of plays, since I was a drama club kid. That's when I developed a fondness for Shakespeare and Tom Stoppard. I was one of those kids who truly liked class-assigned books like The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. I also discovered Nick Bantock in high school—the Griffin & Sabine books are still some of my all-time favorites. I didn't write much as a teenager, I'm sure there was obligatory bad poetry at some point, but I thought about writing more than I actually wrote for years. I didn't start writing seriously until I was in my 20s. I love that The Night Circus is being considered a recommendation for teen readers; I'm not surprised, since I don't see any reason for teenagers not to read it, and I think it could have a lot of appeal for younger readers.
