The story in brief:
Le Cirque des Reves or The Circus of Dreams is a travelling circus which serves as the backdrop of this enthralling story.But this circus is unlike any other,it has an air of mystery surrounding it .It has no set schedule,appearing without warning and leaving without notice and it only opens at night.There are numerous tents with mesmerizing acts performed by the most accomplished of artists and everything is meticulous down to the last detail.In this Circus of Dreams,two illusionists trained by great Magicians belonging to different schools of thought have been magically bound to fight one another in a contest which will span their entire lives,until one of them wins.The magicians have created this contest for their own sense of power and are just using their two students as puppets.The circus serves as the arena where this magical duel takes place,however these young proteges are not given any rules to play by,they dont even know who their opponent is,they have been only told to best the other by creating the most complex shows and maintaining them.However competition eventually changes to admiration and then finally into Love.But a lot is at stake and choices involving a lot of other lives must be made.
My Views:
This book was unlike anything I have read so far.But there are rules to be followed when you are reading it.You cannot read it amid distractions.I was cooped up in a closed room with minimal noise for the entire duration I was reading this.Also you dont read a book like this just for the sake of reading it,you have to experience it and truly live inside it.It was an interactive book.Yes,it took me almost double the time it takes to read most books because I was left with no choice but to imagine everything,conjure it up in my minds eye.The vivid imagery and delicious descriptions left me craving for more.The rich imagination was so captivating that I had quite a time returning back to reality.There are good books and not so good books and there are books which you will remember for the rest of your life,as long as you will live.This was one of those for me.
Might I say that it was a wonderful assault on the senses!Charms,Talismans,Tatoos,Tarot of Marseilles,Fortune-tellers,Acrobats,Conjurers,Contortionists,Dancers,Fire artists,Chocolate mice,Caramel apples,Chocolate pop-corn,the ice garden,a sunken rose-garden,the wishing tree,the pool of tears where sorrows can be tossed like stones,the stargazer,I could just go on forever.I was enchanted!I also got to meet the Reveurs-the circus enthusiasts who seek each other out often spending hours discussing the minutest of details and when they depart ,they shake hands and embrace like old friends even if they have only just met,feeling bound to each other in ways only they can know.I loved every character in this story even more when I realised that each of them was there for a reason.Each had a part to play in the grand scheme of things.
This story was about the dark side of magic as well.However it was also about love and defying fate,about how anything can change at anytime because the future is never set in stone.
It was about permanence and endurance.About how people want to believe that magic is just clever deception,because (as the magician says at the end) 'to think it real would keep them up at night,afraid of their own existence'.
Sometimes we need to escape the real world and indulge the child in us.After all, Oscar Wilde has rightly said-
'A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight,and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world' :)
I know this review doesnt do the book justice.All I can say is that I absolutely enjoyed reading it and cannot recommend it enough.It was Magical!
Needless to say
I rate it a 5 out of 5.
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