Hiddensee

A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker

De: Gregory Maguire

Narrado por: Steven Crossley

In this imaginative novel rooted in the rich soil of early 19th-century German Romanticism, beloved New York Times best-selling author Gregory Maguire twins an origin legend of the famous Nutcracker with the life of Drosselmeier, the toymaker who carves him.

Gregory Maguire's novels have been called "bewitching", "remarkable", "extraordinary", "engrossing", "amazing", and "delicious". Having brought his legions of devoted listeners to Oz in Wicked, Wonderland in After Alice, and Dickensian London in Lost, Maguire now takes us to the Black Forest of Bavaria and Munich of the Brothers Grimm and E. T. A. Hoffman.

Hiddensee recreates the backstory of the Nutcracker, reimaging how this entrancing creature came to be carved and how it magically guided an ailing little girl named Klara through a dreamy paradise on a snowy Christmas Eve. It also brings to life the mysterious godfather Drosselmeier - the ominous, canny, one-eyed toymaker made immortal by Petipa and Tchaikovsky's 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 a migrating strain of a Hellenic mystery-cult and ponders a profound question: how a person who is abused by life, short-changed, and challenged can 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, perhaps everyone, however lonely or marginalized on the eve of a winter holiday, has something precious to share.

©2017 Gregory Maguire (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Enthralling!!!!!

Loved it! As usual, Gregory has made a fabulous story!! Never have I been unhappy with his writing!

Glad I stuck with it

I had a hard time connecting with the main character at first., and I was a little disappointed that there was less fantasy. I found myself wanting a little bit more like in many of his other novels. The story however was wonderful and all of the characters who grew on me in short order . My very favorite part of this story are the overlaps of Hiddensee and the nutcracker I know from my childhood.

Loved it!

I loved this story. Gregory McGuire is brilliant. So glad I found this writer! I am working my way through his library.

A lovely Christmas time book

I love the imagination of the author. At times the book seems to drag on but it holds the reader’s interest to the end.
The narrator is superb.

Hidden see

This was enjoyable....a tale for adults. The ending made this long tale worth waiting for.

Disappointed

It was a great premise, but fell flat in the writing. There were interesting descriptions and turn of phrases at times, but the character development was so poor that the ideas were lost the last 15 to 20% of the book finally caught my attention as the toy maker Started to develop close relationships and the story came to a fruition.

Entertaining

Very good narration. Story is well written and clever. It is creatively thought out. I liked it

Not a Christmas Story

People kept telling me it was a great story with Christmas undertones. I severely question those people idea of Christmas and Good now. I kept hoping it would get better or at least the writer intentions would be revealed... just not my cup of tea, I guess.

A classic Christmas story with a twist

This book is a weird exception from the general rule - at least my general rule - of hooking the reader in the first 5 pages. I admit, it did not do that for me. I found it to be awkward and a bit too gloomy for my taste, but I kept reading and I am so glad I did! Because it turned out to be a magnificent experience, one that truly surprised me. It is quite philosophical and psychological but the plot and characters are also very engaging.

Hiddensee is a novel about many things: childhood (both traumatic and happy), growing up, love, hope, memory and dreams, and it digs deep into its character's souls. It is at heart a re-imagining of a classic Christmas story, just like the subtitle says: a tale of the once and future Nutcracker. Godfather Drosselmeier becomes the hero of this Bildungsroman, an origin story, if you will.

I felt like the novel followed the basic structure of a classical music piece, with themes repeating and developing over time until we reach the final the part, the Coda, where everything comes together and makes perfect sense.

Definitely worth reading!

Pleasant but Disjointed

I like the story, for once, Mr. Maguire made some likable characters. The story and conclusion don’t match for me. The journey was pleasant though.