• The Night Circus

  • By: Erin Morgenstern
  • Narrated by: Jim Dale
  • Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (219 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Night Circus  By  cover art

The Night Circus

By: Erin Morgenstern
Narrated by: Jim Dale
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.43

Buy for $17.43

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Telling her tale with all the attention to detail that has led fans to compare her to such literary greats as H. G. Wells, Erin Morgenstern's world is as dark and thrilling as it is monochromatic.

Longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction.

In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire. Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers, and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs - the dreamers.

At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love....

A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.

©2011 Erin Morgenstern (P)2011 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Night Circus

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    124
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    92
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    105
  • 4 Stars
    52
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

All style, no substance. Hours of blah, blah, blah

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The narrator (Jim Dale) seems to have the perfect voice for this novel.
Until he tries to do the various accents and female voices. His accents are terrible and his female voices sound like cross dressing lumberjacks. Distracting to say the least.
The story itself is boring and very slow. It's nothing but tone setting and creating images, the plot is almost non exsistant and secondary.

What could Erin Morgenstern have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Plot first, THEN atmosphere.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jim Dale’s performances?

No. His reading is very good but his character voices and attempts at accents are distracting and embarrassing.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Night Circus?

I never listen to abridged versions, no matter how many filler chapters there are. If you deleted the droning tone setting scenes from this book it would be at least 50% shorter.

Any additional comments?

Strictly for flakes. The blurb for this book is very deceptive, almost nothing happens.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Literary Tapestry

You’re walking aimlessly through a bookshop looking for a new read. You don’t quite know what you are looking for but you feel as though you’ll recognize it when you see it…

I recognized The Night Circus the second I saw it as something I needed to read. Whether I would enjoy or even finish it I wasn’t sure but something told me that I needed to at least try.

This is not an easy book to define but I’ll do my best. It’s essentially two interwoven stories, one tells the tale of a boy visiting the circus each year or so when it passes through his town. He makes friends with two of the children who work in the circus with a charming kitten show and together they explore all the amazing wonders of the circus and it’s seemingly infinite number of tents. One holds a winter wonderland of snow and ice, another simply holds a bowl of perfect black stones that take away your tears for a night. From incredible to subtly beautiful the boy of course falls in love with the circus so the rest of the world is merely a grey blur in comparison.

The other story is that of the two magicians who created and are still creating the great circus. Marco and Celia are in love and though they met as adults they have been in love their whole lives, writing love letters to one another through each magical tent they create. But they are merely pawns in a bigger, darker game played between Celia’s father and Marco’s mentor. The two lovers have been pitted against each other in a battle of wills and power, a battle to the death.

The Night Circus is not for everyone. It doesn’t read like your usual linear story in fact it reads rather like a painting or rather one of those long tapestries. I’m not sure I would want to read too many stories written this way, but this was so beautifully constructed that I could possibly enjoy a few like it.

One thing I think I should mention - The narration didn't quite do this story justice. I can't really fault the narrator BUT I can't help but think this story would have been more enjoyable if read by an English lady.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

What made the experience of listening to The Night Circus the most enjoyable?

It was so different to any other story I've read/heard. I could imagine the colours and how awesome it would be to make into a movie.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I didn't have a favourite, I was very intrigued as to how they each had importance in the story.

What about Jim Dale’s performance did you like?

Yep

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting premise and description, but fails

to land any emotional punches. Beautiful but superficial. Most of the book feels like the introduction to the grand event, but the grand event never happens. Instead there are just a series of smaller events that wind things up without solid answers to many of the questions that I had.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A thrilling read!

Would you listen to The Night Circus again? Why?

Absolutely. The story is intricately and beautifully entwined with mystery and love. It's so jam packed with imagination and imagery, it's like watching a movie in your own head.

What did you like best about this story?

The imagery in this book is remarkable.

What about Jim Dale’s performance did you like?

Jim Dale captured the different accents very well. Even the slightest change in nuance made it immediately obvious which character he was playing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A deluge of dreams, mystery and love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A poor tale nicely read

Would you try another book from Erin Morgenstern and/or Jim Dale?

Jim Dales reading was excellent. The novel failed to deliver on the expectations it set.

What could Erin Morgenstern have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Delivered on the promise of the novel. The reader is kept waiting for some sort of resolution, instead we are literally presented with a whole passage on how there are no longer any good stories (or are there).

Have you listened to any of Jim Dale’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was The Night Circus worth the listening time?

No

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enchanting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it is a complete fantasy world that lets you escape from the boring reality!

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jim Dale?

Probably

If you could rename The Night Circus, what would you call it?

Black and White and Red All Over

Any additional comments?

Simply great! I wanted to listen to it all day!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Atmospheric presentation and original storyline

I was not sure what to expect having only read the reveiws of this book. It was a slow start and initially the narrators voice did not seem to suit, but after a while it began to become familiar and by the end I could not imagine an alternative. The story line is unusual and the descriptions are vivid but the plotline is rather convoluted and I would have preferred a more dramatic ending. But all in all very enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Amazingly written, not loads happening but great to listen too whilst working. The scene setting is second to none. Don’t read this book for action or a fast paced narrative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed

So imaginative and wonderous. Very sweet and mysterious at the same time. I did however need to go back to take note of chapter titles as I didn’t realise it jumps back and forward in time a bit. I loved it, but I was a bit conufsed initially as I hadn’t payed attention to the locateoons and dates at each chapter.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!