Week 7 The Night Circus (6 points)

    The Night Circus caught my attention by the very premise of the story, "a circus that arrives without warning." One that only appears at nightfall and leaves at dawn, the next location never pre-determined. While I found the overall concept to be imaginative and original, as well as the characters unique, the back and forth jumping of the story often left me going back and re-reading certain parts. I usually don't like it when books and in some cases documentaries use this technique of jumping back and forth in time. I prefer a more linear approach where it progresses forward in time throughout the whole book and or documentary. In the end though, the character of Prospero and the dynamic between him and his now motherless daughter Celia. I found the way he viewed her at first to be a very telling factor of the time setting in which this story took place. He showed no interest in her because of her gender, that is until she started exhibiting the same magical powers that he possessed. He then begins to train her to be used in his ongoing completion with his advisory Mr. A.H. He then selects an apprentice of his own in the orphan Marco. 

    The story then progresses into the competition phase. However, after much time has passed. Both Celia and Marco realize that the only way this ends is when one of them dies. They both barter between each other as to who is more willing to essentially take their own life so that the other one can live and continue on with the Night Circus. Luckily, in a final moment of desperation they both evade the end that every competition before them met by both coming out alive. They eventually are able to negotiate with Mr. A.H. to take reign of the Night Circus. Which then ends in the same way it began, "the circus arrives without warning." Thus coming full circle. 

    I found that despite the back and forth movements in time, I was still able to follow along the story and eager to turn the next page. The world building was quite good and I definitely was imagining scenes in my head in most cases visually. The constant clashes and sheer agony the two apprentices went through only to come out in the end as a "draw" is in my opinion a possibility to upset some readers who may have wanted a clear winner. However, given the good nature of the two, I am glad in which the way the story concluded. 

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