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Book review: Erin  Morgenstern's debut novel The Night Circus
It bears repeating what other reviewers have said as a precursor to describing Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus: the marketing push behind this book — its seven-figure advance, foreign rights sold in more than 25 countries, and a movie deal in the works with Twilight production company Summit Entertainment — tends to create high expectations.
But it wasn’t the hype or the marketing spectacle that drew me to Morgenstern’s debut novel — it was the spectacle within the book’s premise, a nocturnal, Victorian-era circus where two competing magicians fall in love in the midst of a lifelong battle of skills. From the first page, The Night Circus conjures a compelling atmosphere that stakes a claim on all of your senses, letting you feel what it must be like to wander through the fantastical tents of Le Cirque des Rêves.
» Click here to read the full book review on our blog.
 Torontonians: Attend an in-person book review of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, hosted by Bookclub-in-a-Box founder Marilyn Herbert
Join Marilyn Herbert on November 23, 7:30 p.m., at the NCJWC Council House (4700 Bathurst St., Toronto) for an in-depth discussion about Helen Simonson's best-selling novel Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. (Members: free; non-members: $15)
For more details, phone 416-633-5100 or email info@ncjwc-ts.org.
About the novel: When Major Pettigrew, a retired British army major in a small English village, embarks on an unexpected friendship with the widowed Mrs. Ali, who runs the local shop, trouble erupts to disturb the bucolic serenity of the village and of the Major’s carefully regimented life.
As the Major and Mrs. Ali discover just how much they have in common, including an educated background and a shared love of books, they must struggle to understand what it means to belong and how far the obligations of family and tradition can be set aside for personal freedom. Meanwhile, the village itself, lost in its petty prejudices and traditions, may not see its own destruction coming.
 Book clubs, librarians, readers, listen up! Our discussion guide to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is now available for preorder
Our next guide is almost here! Click here to preorder the Bookclub-in-a-Box guide to Junot Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, available on November 21.
Print guide: $14.98
PDF guide: $6.98
As always, the guide includes complete analysis of the characters, themes, symbols, and writing style, plus discussion questions and a one-on-one Q&A with the author.
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