SPOILER ALERT! Do not read any further if you have not yet finished Night Circus!! Below are a few discussion questions I found that I thought might help get the conversation started:
1. What role does time play in the novel? From Friedrick Thiessen's clock to the delayed aging of the circus developers to the birth of the twins -- is time manipulated or fated at the circus?
2. Behind the scenes, the delicate push and pull of the competition results in some sinister events (e.g., Tara Burgess' and Thiessen's deaths). How much is the competition at fault for these losses and how much is it the individual's doing?
3. What is Hector's role in determining the final fate of the competition? He lectures Celia about not interfering with her partner, yet he largely influences the outcome. How much does Marco's underestimation of Isobel affect the outcome?
4. Tsukiko is aware of Isobel's tempering of the circus and when Isobel worries that it is having no effect, Tsukiko suggests that " perhaps it is controlling the chaos within more than the chaos without." What and whose chaos is Tsukiko alluding to here?
5. Celia tells Bailey that he is "not destined or chosen" to be the next propietor of the circus. He is simply "in the right place at the right time ... and care[s] enough to do what needs to be done." In this situation, is that enough? Can the responsibility of maintaining the circus be trusted to just anyone, or, unlike Celia suggests, is Baily truly special? How does Celia's belief relate to the struggling philophies of the game, that is, nature versus nurture, and the ultimate outcome?
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What a great conversation on Night Circus, everyone! We may not all have agreed on whether we liked the book, but the discussion brought out plenty of hidden gems within this story. For me, Morgenstern's prose just couldn't keep up with the ideas and images she was attempting to describe. She committed the cardinal writerly sin of telling rather than showing too many times for me to really enjoy the book. Still, it was a wonderful conversation, thanks all!
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