Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I wanted to do a thread about Bailey but I didn't want to spoil in the title that Bailey is someone who was important to the ending.

I guess my question was, what did everyone think about his part of the story?

I think it was my least favourite part. It felt strange and tacked on. It reinforced the theme of "choice" and "legacy" but I felt like those themes were already elaborated on elsewhere. I didn't really feel like he added to the story.

But I'd love to have my mind changed! Because I want to love everything about this book. What did you think about Bailey and how he fit into the ending?

I got a The Neverending Story� vibe from the role of Bailey; with Bailey in the role of Bastian.

Was the ‘story� of the Night Circus worth reading and keeping? Bailey stands in as a ‘reader� who says that the story that Celia and Marco have created is worth ‘reading� and continues to share it and support the community who loves the story.

While the ‘choice� part was discussed when having Bailey accept the circus, I didn’t really believe that was done well. What kind of choice did he really have? It wasn’t as if he was informed, and it seemed more ‘gun to the head� kind of choice, except that it would have meant the death of Celia and Marco (and maybe the twins?) instead of Bailey.

Scott wrote: "I got a The Neverending Story� vibe from the role of Bailey; with Bailey in the role of Bastian.

Was the ‘story� of the Night Circus worth reading and keeping? Bailey stands in as a ..."

Yeah, but see I felt like the Reveurs in general fulfilled that role quite nicely of the "night Circus being worth reading". I felt like Bailey didn't add much to that either. I guess he allowed us to follow the twins without being in the heads of the twins. That much I did feel he contributed.

Haha yes. "You have a choice but the consequences of you saying No are that everybody dies." isn't really a choice. I guess that's how most people who "volunteered" for the military during the major world wars felt.

That's a good point about the Reveurs filling the same role. That makes me wonder if Celia was actively 'developing' Friedrick Thiessen to be the one that she could hand the circus over to. And then his death is the reason that Bailey had to be involved.

I agree with Anja that there's a 'legacy' aspect to it. There is a difference between attending the show and being the 'next generation' to keep it going. But the twins could have served the same purpose.

Scott wrote: "That's a good point about the Reveurs filling the same role. That makes me wonder if Celia was actively 'developing' Friedrick Thiessen to be the one that she could hand the circus over to. And t..."

Oooooo to the Friedrick Thiessen comment oooooooo. O-O!!!

I liked that the book ends with a happy option, it could just as easily ended with Cecilia or Marcus winning and the circus collapsing in on itself.

I agree that Baily didn't feel formed enough to be thrust into such an important role, although I did like the comment that he was just in the right place at the right time and cared. Seriously, a lot of life is all about that - nice to see this reflected in a book!

Then ending made me want a sequel focused on Bailey and the twins. Felt like it was deliberately written to leave open that door.

I thought that the fact that Celia and Marco took a third option meant that they defied both their mentors, who were both inhuman in many ways by this point. I was so satisfied that they found a way to win against them both and be happy. They just needed help to do it.

Sabrina wrote: "Then ending made me want a sequel focused on Bailey and the twins. Felt like it was deliberately written to leave open that door."

Is she working on another book? I actually felt like there wasn't really much more to add to the story. It's pretty clear that Bailey & Poggett will get together, and the circus continues to move and entertain. The "game" is over, so where could the conflict come?

Now I'm wondering how a sequel would even work. Huh.

David wrote: "
Sabrina wrote: "Then ending made me want a sequel focused on Bailey and the twins. Felt like it was deliberately written to leave open that door."
Is she working on another book? I actually felt..."

(Sadly, since I love the book) Erin Morgenstern has up on her site's FAQ that "There are no plans for a circus sequel and it is highly unlikely that there ever will be."

I think that considering what the story is and how it goes, it doesn't really need a sequel. I could see another book in the same universe with different characters, though, perhaps with a cameo from Alexander.

Joanna wrote: "I think that considering what the story is and how it goes, it doesn't really need a sequel. I could see another book in the same universe with different characters, though, perhaps with a cameo f..."

PREQUEL WITH LITTLE CHILD ALEXANDER BEING SUPER SERIOUS.

Sorry.

I'm calm.

I also felt like the story had a conclusion. The magic of the circus was based around a lot of novelty and I think if she continued, it'd result in Feature Creep.

Also, I'm curious as to other marvellous worlds this author has in store for us!

Too bad that there are no plans for a sequel, I will certainly read whatever her next book is.

Maybe someday she'll change her mind, and if so I hope she tells the story of the interactions of the circus with the outside world. This book was so inwardly focused on building of the circus, I want to hear more about how it changed the lives of the people it came in contact with.

I think that, thematically, it was really important for Bailey to be not important. The shift in the narrative is from Carefully Planned Fates That Magic Fortuna Guys #1 & #2 Crafted Years Before All Were Born to Random Guy That Honestly Doesn't Matter Gets To Pick Up The Circus I Guess If He Wants, Removing It From All That Fate Stuff. And I think that shift to someone completely average and completely removed from the circus is just as important. Handing it over to Poppet and Widget would have felt far too much like a simple continuation of The Game.

(I really like the idea of Thiessan being crafted for this role, though it really really really tugs on my heart strings)

But. I do feel a bit of the same tacked-on-idness of the ending. In my mind it's because of one blank spot of narrative-- why Bailey misses the circus. It's just brushed over as this kind of "oh well, things happen, sometimes people miss trains" moment, when it supposedly massively changes the ending. Even if the oops-oh-well-these-things-happen content was kept, having a chapter of Poppet freaking out as Bailey continues not to arrive, or a vision of the shifting future as he fails to arrive, would have helped make the ending feel less jumpy.

Or maybe just the last 75 pages or so generally could have been expanded, and that would have allowed Bailey's choice to seem more organic.


(One thing I'll leave here as an unrelated footnote: I really loved Bailey's last conversation with his sister. It's a very classic, cliche scene, and the way it typically goes is angry sibling reconnects with runaway just before he leaves, giving him so closure and a nice final memory. So glad we got the natural way that conversation would go instead)

I liked the idea of an average boy like Bailey taking over the circus (steers us away from a "chosen one" narrative that wouldn't have fit with the rest of the novel), but I agree that it seemed odd there wasn't more explanation as to why he missed the circus in Concord. When Poppet mentions they left early, I kept expecting someone to explain why they left early, or Celia to say she made the train leave because she changed her mind about letting Bailey come with the circus. But no, they just decided to leave early that one night. Although I don't think it's mentioned they leave early any other nights.

So that felt a little too manufactured, that he happened to miss the circus, which sets up a more dramatic ending where Bailey shows up after Marco and Celia have transformed.

I was ok with Bailey, as far as people in stories deciding after about 5 minutes that they want to be with someone forever goes. Bailey's detour was obviously the chance for him to a) decide if the circus was actually what he wanted, because at that point he could have just gone back home, and b) meet the revuers and see how important the circus is to other people, not just him.

I had far more issues with Isobel's magic dust that made Marco suddenly transport to the circus. That could have been far less clunky.

Rochelle wrote: "Although I don't think it's mentioned they leave early any other nights. "

When Bailey meets with the reveurs, they mention that the Night Circus will leave early sometimes, so it's not just a one-time thing.

I liked everything. Bailey's Dad wanted him to stay on the farm, Mom wanted Bailey to go the Harvard, but what did Bailey want? The Circus & the Red Head seemed like a natural choice. Plus I like happen endings. I thought Isobel and Tsukiko involvement at the end brought in some extra tension to the final scene. A solid first novel.

Stephen wrote: "I liked everything. Bailey's Dad wanted him to stay on the farm, Mom wanted Bailey to go the Harvard, but what did Bailey want? The Circus & the Red Head seemed like a natural choice. Plus I like h..."

I agree re: Tsukiko & Isobel's involvement adding to the final scene. Despite my pointing out that Morgenstern has no plans for a sequel, I would LOVE to see a prequel telling the story of Tsukiko's duel.

David wrote: "
Rochelle wrote: "Although I don't think it's mentioned they leave early any other nights. "
When Bailey meets with the reveurs, they mention that the Night Circus will leave early sometimes, so ..."

It's just weird considering that Poppet told Celia, "He my friend's coming. He's important." and Celia's like, "Whatevs I don't feel like sticking around".

For me, Bailey's presence did a better job of what the second person sections seemed intended to achieve - drawing me into the story and seeing the wonder of the circus as an audience member. The second person felt like a forced, literary trick way to do this, whereas Bailey provided an ordinary character whose perspective it felt easy and natural to associate with, a more accessible and familiar way of pulling me into a quite alien setting.

The way he fitted into the ending felt neat to the point of cliche, and that undermined its emotional impact for me. That said, if Bailey really is meant to be the closest stand-in for the audience/reader then having him take over can be seen as a nice way of saying 'hey, artists create this stuff, but it needs the audience just as much'.