‘The Night Circus’ Review: The Ice Garden
By Frankie Ray
The Night Circus is a magical, mystical place full of wonder and enchantment. Each tent is crafted beautifully with a key aspect in mind. One such tent is the Ice Garden, which was by far the most intriguing and enchanting tent that I encountered in my time there.
The outside of the tent is nothing special, by the circus’s standards. White and black stripes cover the plastic used to cover the large tent. There is nothing on the outer part of the tent that hints at what is inside, except for the small wooden sign with looped, delicate words describing the Ice Garden. It hangs loosely, yet still high off of the ground, not loose enough to fall. A large opening in the tent shows where the outsiders must go inside. When one enters, however, they may never want to leave.
As soon as you enter, the air drops in temperature. Breathing in sharp and crisp cool air is refreshing especially when coming out of the damp and muggy weather that we’ve had recently. When one breathes, the humidity in their breath freezes immediately. Any skin touching the air is chilled, but as long as you have layers of clothing, you should be fine as it is not arctic.
The sight is something else entirely. As soon as you open your eyes, you see white. Everything in the tent is frozen, from the trees to the flowers to the fountain in the middle of the large garden. The only thing that is moving is the water within the fountain, which is bubbling softly. All of the trees are willow trees, with frost on the tips of the branches that slope down to reach those who walk beneath them. The ground is as white as the walls. Every flower is intricately realistic, with the only reason to believe that they aren’t truly real is the fact that they’re made of ice. Multitudes of flowers are found, from roses to daisies to tulips. The flowers that hang from the trees are delicate and can be broken off easily. There is very little grass, and what grass there is looks as though they’re just tiny icicles coming up from the ground.
Walking forward, there is a large circular path that flows around a large fountain. The water in the lowest bowl of the fountain is not frozen; instead, it is bubbling rather lightly and quietly. The frosted surface of the fountain is cold to the touch and it appears to be frozen as well.
Around the fountain, there are what appear to be statues of gardeners watering the plants, arranging the flowers and picking something off of the trees. Each statue is dressed in white, from the hats on their heads to the shoes on their feet. On the opposite side of the fountain is a lady dressed in white. With closed eyes, she stands solemnly and silently, a look of sorrow on her face. Her outfit is a stark contrast to her skin, which is a dark chestnut, and her hair, dark as the night sky. The longer you stare, however, it appears that she moves ever so slightly, along with the rest. The one reaching for a flower on the tree slowly picks it, but the movement is so subtle that you never really see it happen unless you truly focus.
Near the statue picking the tree is a table covered in a white tablecloth that seems translucent. It seems as though it is a sheet of ice, formed over the table. On the table are many small snacks, with white snowflake cookies that taste like dough to apples covered in white chocolate and frost-like sprinkles. The taste of everything is delicate and airy, minus the apples, which are rich and flavorful but still chilled.
The aura of the Ice Garden is one of silence and peace. One could stand within the garden for hours, feeling warm with happiness even with the cold of the surrounding area. The cold air and frozen fauna aren’t for everyone, but if you are one who likes to walk alone amongst still trees and a white background, then the garden is a tent that I’d suggest.
Rating: 10/10
Reflection of “Ice Garden Review”
Let me start this off by saying that I loved the Night Circus project. My group was fantastic, we chose a gorgeous tent to recreate, and I was proud of our end product. Writing for the project was enjoyable too, as I took half of the editorialist job and wrote the review for the tent, which I had entirely in my head ever since the beginning of the project. To put what I saw into words was the easiest thing I had ever done, as it felt natural just to write about what I already knew.
In this specific review, I tried to be very careful with what words I used while writing about the tent. I tried to use consonance, with descriptive words that helped make the area sound elegant and enticing to possible visitors. As a result, I demonstrated “understanding of figurative language...and nuances in word meanings”, which is found in standard ELAGSE9-10L5. I couldn’t cite evidence in this review, although I would have loved to, as I had to write this in my own words and explain how I saw the tent. As a result, I could only “demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing” (ELAGSE9-10L1). Even with only these two standards, I still feel I went back to the book’s description of the tent quite often, even if I could not use the exact words that Morgenstern used.