PERCOLATIONS

As I sit in front of these keys, I attempt to post an entry on this dull day but find it only fair to mumble a few apologies. You see, a couple of days ago I received two books, and have shamelessly allowed myself to get lost within the pages. The Night Circus, a 2011 fantasy novel by Erin Morgenstern; and, Dr. Rat, a 1976 Speculative fiction by William Kotzwinkle.

 

Dr. Rat is a fictional documentation of the abuses in the scientific experiments on animals, and won the World Fantasy Award for Best novel in 1977. I’m really not quite sure why I even wanted this book other than the fact that Kotzwinkle is one strange dude, and I happen to like the way he strings his words together. I lay testament to that, having soared through, and thoroughly enjoyed, Fata Morgana, and Trouble in Bugland.

 

The Night Circus has been on my radar ever since it hit the stands, but for some strange reason never made it into my hands until now. Le Cirque des Reves (the circus of dreams) is a debut novel for Morgenstern, and as the title implies, it is a circus that only appears at night then magically as it appeared, vanishes at dawn. This is a love story that takes place in the 1800s, within a dark fairy tale of magical realism, and from what I’ve read thus far, it is mesmerizing. I reserve the right to a full review when the last page has been turned.