Tough Traveling: Fairground

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Fairground

This is like a MARKET, except it is much, much bigger and planted somewhere right in the middle of nowhere so that everyone can get to it. There will be rows and rows of TENTS and BOOTHS…

Geez, way to choose a hard one for this week, Nathan. I had a pretty tough time with this one. Too bad circuses don't count immediately because I've sure got plenty of those! But hey, if a book features a circus with a fairground, I say that's FAIR GROUND. Har har, I'm hilarious.

Pantomime by Laura Lam - Like a lot of circuses, the one in this book includes a funfair. Protagonist Gene makes frequent visits to explore the fair grounds after shows to visit the different booths for games and delicious carnival food like roasted hazelnuts, popping corn and caramel apples. Yum! (Review)

The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher - We're transported from the London streets to a funfair in the countryside when Lucy Harker gets into a bit of trouble and finds herself traveling with a troupe of performers. She learns that an upcoming "wizard battle" between two rival magicians has become the fair's biggest attraction. (Review)

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard - I almost forgot about this! If I hadn't picked up my copy the other day and looked at the back cover, which actually shows a short excerpt from a scene where Corin and Tam are riding atop wooden horses on a carousel. The two lovers had donned masks to sneak out to the fair. (Review)

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch - One of the best scenes in this novel is the the Spring Court held by the God and Goddess of Thames. A large celebration in the park, the event featured games, vendors hawking food and trinkets, and even an antique steam-powered carousel and a jazz tent! As the closest thing to magical law enforcement, constable Peter Grant of the Folly has to man a Metropolitan Police booth. (Review)

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher - Most people think of fairgrounds as fun, cheery places, but the one in this book is anything but. Instead of whimsical rides and attractions, there's a creepy circus here with a funfair featuring mechanical devices and structures suffused with pure evil, and they hunger for the blood of carnival goers. (Review)



Honorable Mentions:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - While I can't recall an actual fairground in these books, Kvothe spent his childhood with his family, a troupe of traveling players that traveled from town to town performing songs and theater acts at fairs and large gatherings. He describes his early days as happy, like growing up in the center of an endless fair.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I think Le Cirque des Rêves is more of an actual circus, featuring tents that are larger and more elaborate, unlike the little stalls and booths you'd find on normal fairgrounds. But the sights within are just too awe-inspiring not to include this book here. (Review)

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre: Magic, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Double Day
Publication Date: September 2011
Author Info: erinmorgenstern.com

It was fascinating to see the characters and events slip in and out of the chapters in such a graceful and sensual dance.

5 of 5 stars

Open the pages of the Night Circus and you are immediately absorbed into a mesmerizing world that leaves you hoping La Cirque des Rêves will visit soon so that you may experience its wonders for yourself. The simplest explanation of this circus is to have you imagine your favourite incarnation of Cirque de Soleil, only, on a more subtle scale, its grandeur hidden within the elegance of its black and white world under the stars. Like other circuses and fairs, you will still find acrobats and contortionists and fortune tellers… And you will find illusionists.

Cirque du Soleil

Within the setting of the circus, a competition plays out that is reminiscent of books like The Prestige, where two skilled magicians constantly try to one up each other. The difference here is that the magic is real, and that the “illusionists” in question do not directly compete against each other. Instead, they find and raise gifted children. The children are raised knowing their purpose, but not the venue or even their competitor. In this case, Celia Bowen and Marco Alexander end up intricately entwined within La Cirque des Rêves and they fall in love – something their callous fathers cannot fathom.

The lovers’ story is beautiful and tragic, but while they are at the heart of The Night Circus, theirs is not the only story being told. Everyone – from the clockmaker who’s love for the circus inadvertently forms the circus’ elite fan club, to the young boy wishing for a fairytale ending, to the red-haired twins born auspiciously on opening night, to the circus’ founders, to the fortune teller and the contortionist – is so intricately bound together within the circus. It was fascinating to see the characters and events slip in and out of the chapters in such a graceful and sensual dance. Somewhere along the way, I realized that even Time and the circus itself were like living, breathing characters.

The true magic of The Night Circus is that, like the circus itself, it cannot be pinned down. It cannot be easily lumped into any particular genre. It is all and it is none and its wonders and mysteries must simply be experienced…

Wendy's Fall Reading List

I have a huge TBR pile, but these lucky pieces of literature have made it to the top for this season. My list for the fall isn't quite as ambitious as Mogsy's, but making the list definitely helps keep me on track. It's so easy to be distracted by -- oh Amazon is having a sale.....

I have far too many back issues of comics and graphic novels that I also need to catch up on, so, after closing my eyes and randomly poking a finger at the pile, I decided to start on Fables. And for lulz, I will see how it compares to Grimm Fairy Tales.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus is a magical tale set in Victorian London, featuring the fantastical and mysterious le Cirque des Rêves which only opens from sunset to sunrise. Its attractions include a cloud maze, a wishing tree, ice gardens and other tents full of impossible wonders, as well as performers that are capable of the extraordinary.

Celia the illusionist is a true magician, groomed by her father Prospero the Enchanter to challenge Marco, the young protege of the mysterious Mr. A.H-. The circus becomes their battleground, with the two using it behind the scenes as a proxy to create more magical attractions to captivate their audiences. When the two finally discover each other, they fall in love despite the rivalry between their masters and being sworn to compete against each other until only one person is left standing.

On the face of it, I should have loved this book, given the nature of the story and its themes. It's also beautifully written, with descriptive prose which lets the reader picture the circus and its performers in all its splendid details. The author has a talent for bringing that magic to life with her words, and I also loved the many awe-inspiring ideas she had for the attractions in the circus.

At the same time, however, I felt the novel's setting began overshadowing everything else. The main characters lost their liveliness and charm, compared with amazing sights at the circus and everything else happening around them, which I often found to be much more interesting.

As a result, I tried but could barely grasp the romance or chemistry between Marco and Celia in this so-called love story. Their actions and words spoke of their strong feelings towards each other, but I just didn't feel the passion. I felt so much of the emotion was missing behind the intimate scenes and dialogue, though I give it they were certainly written prettily enough.

Personally, I wanted more from the characters, but if you're into magical realism and are looking for a neat little twist to your usual contemporary fantasy and don't mind a bit of stunted romance, then this book is a good choice.

Final Verdict:

3 of 5 stars