The author of the beloved New York Times bestseller Wicked returns with an inventive novel inspired by a timeless holiday legend, intertwining the story of the famous Nutcracker with the life of the mysterious toy maker named Drosselmeier who carves him.
Hiddensee: An island of white sandy beaches, salt marshes, steep cliffs, and pine forests north of Berlin in the Baltic Sea, an island that is … north of Berlin in the Baltic Sea, an island that is an enchanting bohemian retreat and home to a large artists’ colony– a wellspring of inspiration for the Romantic imagination . . .
Having brought his legions of devoted readers to Oz in Wicked and to Wonderland in After Alice, Maguire now takes us to the realms of the Brothers Grimm and E. T. A. Hoffmann– the enchanted Black Forest of Bavaria and the salons of Munich. Hiddensee imagines the backstory of the Nutcracker, revealing how this entrancing creature came to be carved and how he guided an ailing girl named Klara through a dreamy paradise on a Christmas Eve. At the heart of Hoffmann’s mysterious tale hovers Godfather Drosselmeier– the ominous, canny, one-eyed toy maker made immortal by Petipa and Tchaikovsky’s fairy tale ballet– who presents the once and future Nutcracker to Klara, his goddaughter.
But Hiddensee is not just a retelling of a classic story. Maguire discovers in the flowering of German Romanticism ties to Hellenic mystery-cults– a fascination with death and the afterlife– and ponders a profound question: How can a person who is abused by life, shortchanged and challenged, nevertheless access secrets that benefit the disadvantaged and powerless? Ultimately, Hiddensee offers a message of hope. If the compromised Godfather Drosselmeier can bring an enchanted Nutcracker to a young girl in distress on a dark winter evening, perhaps everyone, however lonely or marginalized, has something precious to share.
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Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire tells of a meandering youth, Dirk Drosselmeier, on a journey to reconcile his lack of childhood. A foundling raised by an “old man and old woman” in a woodcutter’s cottage, the youth learned fairy tales but not love. Disfigured after a deadly accident, the child wanders like a lost spirit, assailed by nature spirits who charged him with a task. Find a home for their displaced, mythical land, their “little lost forest.”
In truth, I liked the end of this tale much better than its disjointed beginning. I think the “artistic journey” is often a bit of a ramble, but Dirk Drosselmeier takes over 200 pages to get to a point where I feel he’s almost comfortable in his own essence. From there, it takes another almost 80 pages to come to terms with his lot in life.
But isn’t life like that? We are often children, wandering through our own fairytale forests, searching to come to some sort of understanding of ourselves. We face heartaches and challenges, are rejected, misunderstood, and, when lucky, loved and appreciated. However, “Who mourns a toymaker? Toys get broken…”
I, for one, mourn broken toys. I cherish childhood and revel in Christmases.
Thus, I adored Klara, but alas, she came so late into the story.
This book confused the younger readers to whom I read. I found myself translating for them, which was distracting. However, I don’t believe Mr. Maguire intended this book for the young. This is not a fast-paced story with tons of action. No, it is more of a nostalgic stroll through a landscape at once familiar and yet somehow not.
Although this is not my favorite of Gregory Maguire’s books, Hiddensee contains lyrical passages and an interesting blend of folklore, mythology, and art that intrigued. And the end made the reading experience worthwhile.
Mr Maguire’s imagination and creativity are without parallel! How he reinvents fairy tales with ambiguous meaning, conceptualizing with brilliant clarity and eloquent expression, bewitching us mere mortals as we covet his next wondrously crafted release! My autographed copy occupies a revered place in my library, next to his other classic fictions.
It was a really slow for the first half, but if you know anything about the Nutcracker Ballet the second half is worth it.
If The Nutcracker holds a special place in your heart, Hiddensee is both a beautiful tribute, as well as departure from the fabulous old story. It’s the tale of the nutcracker and Drosselmyer, before they become those you know and love. Being Macquire, it’s a bit darker than the familiar story, but the magic is intact, and then some.This book is an overlooked gem. Beautifully written and executed. If you’re looking for holiday reading that isn’t Scrooge or Hallmark, give it a read.
The real story of the Nutcracker
If you can survive the beginning, you might enjoy it.
I have to admit that I’ve almost put it down about 10% in, but decided to slog it out a bit farther. I really didn’t like the beginning. It is off and creepy, not in a good way. It also has little to do with the rest of the story. But the book does get better, and in the end, I’ve even shed a tear (I do cry easily).
Couldn’t get through it-
I usually like my fiction realistically believable… not so with this wonderful author.
Lovely writing. Not sure what to say about the ending.