This chapter begins with the creation of another set of ridiculously lavish dinners for the creators of the Night Circ- I mean Le Cirque des Reves.
These circus dinners bring together the whole gang, except for the fact that Mr. Barris is there occasionally, and Mr. A. H- rarely.
For the Circus Dinner this chapter focuses on, only Chandresh, Mme. Padva, and the Burgesses are present, as Mr. Barris is working on finding a clockmaker, who turns out to be more important to the circus than most of the Circus Dinner guests.
Their unplanned entertainment arrives in the form of Tsukiko, a contortionist. Chandresh invites her to eat, because she wasn't scheduled to twist herself into pretzels for their enjoyment this evening.
Marco, who for some reason is still satisfied with tending to Chandresh's frivolities, upon removing her coat, is transfixed by the symbolic swirls of the massive tattoo covering her shoulders, chest, and upper back.
In response to his borderline creepy staring, Tsukiko simply says "It is part of who I was, who I am, and who I will be."
The guests whisper to each other as she performs, because Tsukiko is pretty damn good. Chandresh, realizing this, exclaims, "We simply have to have her, I will not accept anything less." Marco quickly arranges her a seat.
Apparently Tsukiko doesn't initially want to join the circus, because Morgenstern writes that she only agrees "after five courses and a great deal of wine," and this chapter ends with Tsukiko becoming a permanent performer at the Circus Dinners.
Note: she leaves contact information with Marco. I choose to see this as premonition. Sneaky, Morgenstern, sneaky, unless of course it was unintentional and I'm just fishing for spoilers I can add to entertain myself.
But shhh, I know what I'm talking about, I already read the book.
Chapter Twelve should be out by next Sunday. Enjoy these frequent reviews, earthlings, it is likely they are about to end.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
The Night Circus- Part One (Primordium): Chapter Ten (Condolences) - Oh, I Wish
This chapter begins by lying to me in the worst way possible.
"The announcement in the paper states that Hector Bowen, better known as Prospero the Enchanter, entertainer and stage magician of great renown, died of heart failure in his home on the fifteenth of March."
How I wish this were actually true.
So alll the people who inexplicably like Prospero the Enchanter leave all their cards and flowers and letters to their town-house, and because the "dead" Hector won't do anything about them, Celia has to go through every letter, including marriage proposals, and in response to these she says something that is more true than she realizes at this point in time.
"'I am already married," she remarks to the empty air, twisting the ring on her right hand that covers an old, distinctive scar."
Don't worry, she doesn't mean "married" in the traditional sense, but she is married in the sense that she is bound to another person (Marco). I didn't realize until now that the relationship between Marco and Celia is a huge cart-before-horse situation, but as I say with most spoilers, we'll come back to it.
Celia comes across a grey envelope. Hmmmm, I wonder who it could be from?
The card inside gives away its sender (in case you hadn't already guessed) with its cryptic-ness.
It says "Your move."
For all Mr. A H- told Marco about the competition not being like chess, he sure does talk like it is...
Celia feels something in response to this, but she can't decide if it is excitement or dread. She goes to the upstairs parlor, where a transparent form of her father is, unfortunately, waiting. Yeah, he faked his death because he didn't anticipate how difficult it is to turn yourself invisible, and he didn't even fully succeed. I can't say I feel sorry for him.
This, another really short chapter, ends with the ghost-like Hector reading the words and laughing.
Chapter Eleven should be out by next Sunday.
"The announcement in the paper states that Hector Bowen, better known as Prospero the Enchanter, entertainer and stage magician of great renown, died of heart failure in his home on the fifteenth of March."
How I wish this were actually true.
So alll the people who inexplicably like Prospero the Enchanter leave all their cards and flowers and letters to their town-house, and because the "dead" Hector won't do anything about them, Celia has to go through every letter, including marriage proposals, and in response to these she says something that is more true than she realizes at this point in time.
"'I am already married," she remarks to the empty air, twisting the ring on her right hand that covers an old, distinctive scar."
Don't worry, she doesn't mean "married" in the traditional sense, but she is married in the sense that she is bound to another person (Marco). I didn't realize until now that the relationship between Marco and Celia is a huge cart-before-horse situation, but as I say with most spoilers, we'll come back to it.
Celia comes across a grey envelope. Hmmmm, I wonder who it could be from?
The card inside gives away its sender (in case you hadn't already guessed) with its cryptic-ness.
It says "Your move."
For all Mr. A H- told Marco about the competition not being like chess, he sure does talk like it is...
Celia feels something in response to this, but she can't decide if it is excitement or dread. She goes to the upstairs parlor, where a transparent form of her father is, unfortunately, waiting. Yeah, he faked his death because he didn't anticipate how difficult it is to turn yourself invisible, and he didn't even fully succeed. I can't say I feel sorry for him.
This, another really short chapter, ends with the ghost-like Hector reading the words and laughing.
Chapter Eleven should be out by next Sunday.
The Selection- Chapter One
"When we got the letter in the post..."
The letter she is referring to is a call to women between 16 and 18 to apply for a version of "The Bachelor". Except this bachelor is the Prince of a nation called Illea. A country that still has the caste system. Royalty are Ones, and "the lowest of the low" are Eights.
America Singer is a Five, and her mother believes that The Selection is an opportunity to help their family. She tries to guilt America into signing up, but her heart belongs to another and her feelings about the prince consist of thinking he is a stuck-up jerk. The chapter ends with America sneaking into the treehouse to see her secret love and the quote, "hey there gorgeous." which, until you read next chapter's review, is extremely stalker-ish.
So we here at Midnight Harbor will be doing weekly surveys which will be asking our faithful readers to answer random question. Yesterday I asked you guys which one was better: Harry Potter or Twilight. And although we started this new and odd tradition on a Saturday, it has been dubbed "Survey Sunday" simply because that sounds better than Survey Saturday.
And lastly, Anonymous, your wish is my command.
Midnight Harbor Google+ Account
Hello earthlings! Audrey here.
So I have just spent an hour struggling with the bowels of Google login and my terrible WiFi to create a Google+ account just for the Midnight Harbor, and it is done.
It should appear as another author here, but it serves as a placeholder of sorts. You can follow the account to follow the blog in its entirety:
midnightharbor@gmail.com
Thanks!
The Night Circus- Part One (Primordium): Chapter Nine (Associates and Conspirators) - I Get It, You're Rich
This chapter begins with Midnight Dinners, which Chandresh randomly decided to hold.
True to the name, the first course is served at midnight. First, the guests are friends, but the invitation to a Dinner becomes a sort of highly coveted prize.
There are no menus, but the food is always of amazing quality.
Chandresh is obsessed with creating an air of "nocturnal mystery", so the settings, mannerisms, and food reflects that as much as possible.
And then comes a description of the dessert that I suggest you don't read while hungry.
"The desserts are always astonishing. Confections deliriously executed in chocolate in butterscotch, berries bursting with creams and liqueurs. Cakes layered to impossible heights, pastries lighter than air. Figs that drip with honey, sugar blown into curls and flowers."
I can just imagine getting the invitation to one of these dinners, and just getting horribly sick/full while eating, and you have to sit and watch the other people stuff their faces with the prettiest food ever.
Anyway, more fluff about the extravagance: decor, entertainment, etc., etc.
The Midnight Dinner that is the focus of this chapter introduces us to the people who will run the Night Circus...oh, I'm sorry, Le Cirque des Reves:
Mme. Ana Padva- a ballerina. Not exactly sure what she does; not a very important character.
Mr. Ethan W. Barris- an engineer/architect. Most likely designed certain aspects of the circus.
Tara and Lainie Burgess- the "twins" every large group apparently has, who apparently "do a little bit of everything", which means they don't do anything.
And of course, the man in the grey suit, who is now, infuriatingly to my grammar quirks, is now known as "Mr. A. H-", because a period cannot contain his name, which, chances are, is not his actual name.
There are some other people important to the story, but I'm not exactly sure when they come in. Marco is serving as Chandresh's assistant.
They talk and eat, so on and so on, and when they finish dinner around two in the morning, they get down to business, talking in the stereotypical "I'm incredibly rich, much more than you" sort of way, drinking brandy and coffee on couches and armchairs.
Chandresh describes his plan for the circus, and here I need to put in another long quote:
"'It is merely in conceptual stages, and that is why I ask you all here now, for the inception and development. What it needs is style, panache. Ingenuity in its engineering and structure. To be infused with the mesmerizing, and perhaps a touch of mystery. I believe you are the proper group for this undertaking. If any of you disagree, you are welcome to leave but I respectfully request you speak of this to no one. I prefer that these plans be kept undisclosed entirely, at least for now. Very sensitive at this point, after all.'"
This chapter ends with another three-to-four hours' worth of the group poring over the charts and diagrams and writing twice as many new ones.
Chapter Ten should be out by next Sunday.
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