When Marie finally heads to the Nutcracker’s kingdom, we only get a brief glimpse of the delights that exist in a world free of rules. It wastes so much time setting everything up but rushes all of the really interesting parts. The only problem is, the story has really odd pacing.

There are some fantastic themes here and the worlds that are created are fantastic. Marie gets to see all sorts of wonderful things but she has to choose to leave her own world and family behind forever. The book suggests that letting your imagination run free is both a positive and a negative. Drosselmeier is unable to create the toy that she asked him for because his creativity is restricted but, in the Nutcracker’s kingdom, Marie can build it herself. So, she embraces the Nutcracker’s world as she sees the freedom it offers her. She lives in a regimented world but she dislikes the rigid rules she has to follow. Marie is held back in her own world and is dismissed by family. It makes some interesting points about imagination and the rational world we live in. It’s not that this story isn’t well-written or interesting. But can she actually help get rid of the Mouse King completely and maybe turn the Nutcracker back into his old self? Marie vows to protect her toy from the Mouse King and, over the next few nights, does whatever it takes to keep the Mouse King happy. Marie and Fritz’s toys come to life and help the Nutcracker fight the mouse army but it is only with Marie’s help that the hero can be saved. He used to be a human boy but was cursed for killing the Mouse Queen.Īs well as being turned into the toy, the Nutcracker is being pursued by the Mouse Queen’s seven-headed child, the Mouse King. He also tells her the story of why the Nutcracker looks so strange. Marie’s godfather, Drosselmeier is an inventor who can fix the Nutcracker. This sets her off on a fantastical journey into a magical world where toys come to life. When her brother, Fritz, breaks the toy, Marie is heartbroken and vows to nurse him back to health. On Christmas Eve, Marie is given a Nutcracker by her father. However, the story has stayed, more or less, the same over the years. There are some gruesome images during the battle between the Nutcracker and the seven-headed Mouse King. There are so many versions of this story out there that it’s easy to forget how dark the original tale is. I figured it was worth finally checking it out. Although, I’ve had this gorgeous illustrated copy for years. I don’t think I’ve ever read the original version of The Nutcracker by German writer E.T.A. To get something finished for today’s post, I decided to pick up another short one.

Meaning all of the books that are over 200 or so pages just seem super long.

It’s my own fault really because who has time for much reading at the moment? I just always seem to have something to do. So, yet again, my Christmas reading hasn’t gone to plan.

The nutcracker by eta hoffmann