Happy Tuesday!
Today I am linking up with Vicki @ I’d Rather Be At The Beach who hosts a meme every Tuesday to share the First Chapter/First Paragraph or two of the book you are currently reading.
I’m also once again joining The Purple Booker with Teaser Tuesday. It’s easy to join – just grab your current read, open it to a random page, and share two teaser sentences being careful not to include any spoilers.
*I’m not too far into this book yet, but for fun I decided to include two teasers rather than just one.
First Chapter/First Paragraph
Anticipation
The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick.
But it is not open for business. Not just yet.
Teaser Tuesday
“She has remarkable control for one so young,” he remarks to Hector. “But such a temper is always an unfortunate variable. It can lead to impulsive behavior.”
“She’ll either grow out of it or learn to control it. It’s a minor issue.”
…
“How can the people watching not see the difference?” the boy asks. To him it is clear, though he cannot properly articulate why. It was something he felt in the air as much as observed with his eyes.
“People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.”
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Goodreads Synopsis
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 Rêves, 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.
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: 9/13/2011
That language just tickled my senses. Definitely enjoyed reading it.
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My eldest daughter read this a few years ago. Isn’t this magical realism or fantasy? It sounded interesting when she read it but I just never got around to picking it up. I hope you enjoy it!
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Yes it is fantasy/historical fiction.
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I’ve been noticing this book since it first came out…and I must admit that the circus aspect kept me from grabbing it. But I love the excerpts, so I may have to rethink my earlier reactions.
Thanks for sharing…and here’s mine: “THE BAD DAUGHTER”
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I thought about reading this but never did. I hope you enjoy it.
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The opening makes me think this is a creepy kind of circus. Not the kind of circus I’d enjoy, but it sounds like a good story.
My Tuesday post features Good Grief.
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Great choice of teasers! You’ve fully made me want to reread this one now… The descriptions are just too wonderful.
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I tried this on audio and couldn’t get into it. I keep thinking it would be good if I read it myself. See what we are featuring at Girl Who Reads
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My mom tried the audio version and didn’t care for it either. She like the narrator, but had trouble getting into the story.
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This was on my list when it first came out, but I never did get to it. I like those excerpts though, so I may have to pick it up.
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I’m so tempted! The reviews are just all over the place!
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Love TNC!
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