Hiddensee audiobook

Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire tells the story of Drosselmeier, the man responsible for creating the Nutcracker, as well as how he came to give it to young Klara. Full of Maguire’s typical prose and poetic language, Drosselmeier starts as a young boy living with Hansel and Gretel in the woods. When a tragic accident leaves him without an eye and brings him to “the other side” and back, Drosselmeier is then sent to live with various families until he is old enough to become a toymaker. When his beloved friend Felix dies, Drosselmeier assumes paternal responsibility for Felix’s children and develops a quick bond with Felix’s granddaughter, Klara, a sickly girl who lives in a world of fantasy that is very similar to Drosselmeier’s own. “Hiddensee” is a short novel to read, with quick chapter that flow together rather nicely. Drosselmeier’s story, as told by Maguire, is an interesting one, full of mystery, fantasy and family. Normally, I find Maguire’s writing a little hard to take, with his extravagant, expanded vocabulary that has be scrambling for a dictionary at least once per page. In this instance though, “Hiddensee” was far more digestible, while still remaining beautifully written. Drosselmeier is the ultimate misfit- alone for most of his life due to his creative imaginings and strange behaviours, he finds love in the wrong places and with the wrong people until finally finding an adopted family of his own. He is a wonderful anti-hero, creating empathy and connection with the reader. The story is well-told, with well-developed characters and a smooth flow. Creative and charming, this novel is the perfect novel for the holiday season. Set in “Bavaria” and its surrounding lands, “Hiddensee” takes us through beautiful, isolated settings, with strange customs and characters from fairy tales. This novel has a distinctive and sweet ending, allowing for the satisfying finality I love in novels like this. “Hiddensee” is a great re-imagining of the Nutcracker, told in the way only Maguire can. A beautiful novel for the Christmas season and beyond.

The walnut, opened.I was intrigued by the gentle telling of this story, but the truth is, I didn't realize I had loved it until the very end.

3.5 StarsReview:It took a while for me to get into this book, but I enjoyed it in the end. It was an interesting take on the background of the The Nutcracker and the life of the mysterious toymaker Drosselmeier.What made this book hard for me to get into was how meandering it was. It really was the story of Drosselmeier's life, starting with his childhood, all the way through death. There was no real goal or stakes. But that was the nature of the book. It was meant to be more of a prequel than a retelling, the story of how Drosselmeier become a toymaker, how he came to make the Nutcracker, and how he became part of the Stahlbaum family. Despite being easy to put down at times, I did like the premise of getting to know the man and the background behind the famed Nutcracker. And there were some unexpected turns and parts of the story where I was more drawn in. By the end, I did want to keep reading.I also liked Drosselmeier's POV. He didn't have a whole lot of personality, but it was in a way that made sense and seemed to suit him... which probably doesn't make sense to anyone reading this review. He had a very different life and perspective from mine, and I always appreciate that in books. Also, Drosselmeier seemed to be attracted to men and women, which would make this book LGBT+, but his sexuality was never explicitly stated.The writing had somewhat of a fairy tale feel to it. Sometimes things were a little vague and otherworldly. I just now realized that the fantasy element was very light. Personally I would've liked a bit more of the fantastical. But I liked how immersed the story was in the setting of 1800s Germany.I'm sure there was more to this book---the blurb talks about all sorts of deeper things---but I've never been great at finding hidden meanings. I just enjoyed this for the story. If I recall correctly (I wrote most of this review right after reading, but I'm only getting around to editing and posting it months later), it had a wistful feeling to it. It made me feel kind of melancholic (I'm not sure I'm using that right, kind of like a slight, vague sadness), but I think it's good when a book can make me feel anything, even if it's not the most positive of emotions.I don't normally talk about the physical aspects of books, but I have to say, this book has a lot of cool stuff going on. I have a hardcover copy, and sadly I don't have the dust jacket because I bought it from Book Outlet (I want that damn dust jacket so badly), but I know it has a cut-out where the walnut is, and on the actual book is a giant nutcracker face holding the walnut between its teeth. Also, the pages are deckle edged, which somehow matches the historical, fairy tale feel of the story.This may not be everyone's kind of book, but I think you just need to know what you're getting into. It's not a fun, whimsical, Christmas-themed retelling, but rather a fairytale-esque story of a mysterious character's life that kind of ends with a nod to the original classic, and I enjoyed it.Recommended For:Anyone who like prequel retellings, fairy tales, and slow-paced stories about a character's life. Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight ---------------------Initial Thoughts:An interesting, fairy tale-esque take on the history behind the Nutcracker. Meandering, but it pulled me in more the further I got. 3.5 stars, full review soon!Side note: Does anyone have the dust jacket of this book and not want it??? I got the hardcover without the jacket :-/ Publishers should sell copies of just dust jackets for this purpose.

In order to enjoy a Gregory Maguire novel, I believe you have to firmly enjoy his writing style. He is overly-adorned, writing with extravagant words and dripping with baroque prose. His words are sophisticated, but extra; elegant, but glitzy. He expels a sort of literary kitsch, and in order to enjoy the content, you have to be okay with this delivery.
As he did in his previous novels, he positions his fairy tale against a context of societal, political, and realistic settings.
Maguire uses this novel to not only retell a fairy tale, but to ask huge questions of the universe. He examines death and the afterward of dying; he ponders over the links between Greek mythology and German storytelling; he discusses the magic of youth, and the nature of growing old.
His questions are a lot to digest in just 283 pages of the mass hardcover edition. In hindsight I would've liked to hear more about Drosselmeier's mysterious and magical experiences in the Lost Forest with his gods of Pan and Pythia, who are oft mentioned but never really dealt with. However, he weaves the magic of the fairy tale into his realism quite effortlessly, and while I miss the magic, I can appreciate the stern direction Maguire usually takes.
Ultimately, you can never fault Maguire for lack of originality. It takes quite a skill of imagination to take an existing piece of work and twist it so entirely far into what Hiddensee is. At its core, the book is based on Drosselmeier's loves, losses, growth, and beliefs. He is a lively, distinct, and interesting character, and the people he meets along the way are, too. The characters and their development are the foundation of the novel, more so than any fairy tale.
Hiddensee is not The Nutcracker. It is a prequel to the beloved story we all know and love, but even at that, it is entirely its own story with a fiercely independent purpose. Maguire's elaborate words lay industrial amounts of glitter over a serious imagining of a magical plot. If you want to enjoy this book, know what you are getting yourself into. It is not a fairy tale, it is barely magical, and it doesn't ring out with holiday cheer. However, it does ask resonance questions about complex concepts. Where does the passion of youth go as we grow old? Are nostalgias and memories more painful than letting go? What are loneliness, and magic, and death, and mysticism? Like I said: Maguire is asking the big questions here, and he may not give us all the answers here, but he's sure made me think.

My entire life I have spent every Christmas indulging in the Nutcracker, from performing in it as a sugar plum fairy or mouse as a child, attending annual local performances with my in-laws and watching film after film of live performances. It's a story I hold near and dear to my heart, if for nothing than the nostalgia. I've likewise, spent my entire adult life raving up and down the streets, parties, anyone who will bother listening to me my utter and COMPLETE love of Gregory Maguire's work. Having been a voracious reader at a very young age, fairy tales have always interested me, so growing up and finding this intelligent, adult narrations and retellings of my favorite stories were like my dreams had been answered. So, now, imagine what my reaction was to find out an author I adore and admire for his creativity and beautiful way with words was going to grant me the pleasure of reading his take on such a beloved story. Really, imagine. Kermit waving his wands around like a limp puppet has nothing on me.For those of us unaware of the story of the Nutcracker, the story was originally written by E. T. A. Hoffman in 1816, revised by Alexandre Dumas in 1844 and adapted as a ballet in 1892. The story follows Marie Stahlbaum, sometimes known as or Clara in the ballet, as she awaits with her siblings to see what gifts their godfather, a clockmaker, has brought them for Christmas. She almost immediately becomes infatuated with a nutcracker that her brother insists on breaking after attempting to crack a nut just a bit too large. Upset, Marie puts the nutcracker to sleep and is started when the nutcracker seems to come alive inciting what could only consider the most fantastic of all fever dreams. Mice begin to attack, along with their seven-headed mouse king, and the Nutcracker leaps to life to defend Marie with the assistance of her dolls. When the fight begins to look bleak, Marie whips off her slipper and flings it at the Mouse King (also my favorite part of the ballet). Of course, no one believes her because she's just a child. But, after fixing her beloved nutcracker her godfather regales Marie the story of Princess Pirlipat and the Mouse Queen, a story of revenge and the birth of the Nutcracker. It eventually ends with a final battle with the new Mouse King and Marie being whisked away to the Nutcracker's doll kingdom or in the ballet, after the Land of Sweets.Hiddensee is the amazing, beautifully written story from childhood to adulthood of Marie's (or Marie-Claire) godfather Dirk Drosselmeier. At first, I wasn't sure what I was expecting from this book. Part of me wanted a pure retelling of the story I've grown so fond of, but I was pleasantly elated at the peak into the life of the man behind the woodcarving. There was so much mythology, Germanic and Greek, and true to Maguire's nature, he spent plenty of time setting up each nook and cranny until the entire story became perfectly allied for that fateful night on Christmas Eve. Maguire's prose is majestic and carried me over each page until I realized I had signed into a perfect ending in one sitting. Dirk is a lovable dolt of a character, both burdened and naive by his youth being raised by unloving guardians (a hint into some Brother's Grimm) who he fled from after an ancient in the forest left him with a single working eye. Dirk himself seems to straddle the line between reality and fantasy in a way that had me hook and invested in his every thought. While he seemed unable to allow himself to believe the frivolous things of a child, he also rarely allowed himself to feel other things as well, like romance, lust, and true happiness. He seemed stuck. While he learns as he grows up to feed into other children's games in place of his own childhood, he fails to belong. He's neither child nor fully adult. If anything this story begs for us to reclaim our childhoods and our pasts to find that moment that brought us so much joy and cherish it, because before we know it, it could be too late and it'll take a sweet girl and her stories to show us what we missed out on.

You have to go into reading a book by Gregory Maguire with an open mind. I didn’t know that when I read my first book authored by him but it’s apparent pretty quickly that you are entering a different kind of world. His books are not going to be for everyone and I’ve run into people that love them as I do and just as many that don’t get them. I find it surprising that I enjoy them as much as I do as I am such a literal thinker. To me that is a testament to Mr. Maguire’s ability to create a reality within his fantasy worlds. To somehow ground them in enough that is believable for a person to accept animals that talk or worlds beyond the type we inhabit.Hiddensee is not the Nutcracker’s story but rather his creator’s. Like most I suspect, I had never given much thought to this aspect of the tale, but rather only to the more familiar; the young girl, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky’s music is familiar to most and calls to mind the happy children skipping along and of course that famous dancing fairy.This book, though goes to dark places. The godfather who sets the tale in motion bringing the Nutcracker to little Klara is the focus of Hiddensee and his back story is not really a happy one. It’s this tale that Maguire mines for his book. He takes his reader through a rather dark childhood through the use of the German fairytales that most of us grew up on and the author assumes his reader has at least a general knowledge of these tales. I don’t know if they are still told to children but some of the first stories I was read included Grimm’s fairy tales. Seemingly happy for children but far more threatening when read through the eyes of an adult, eh?The godfather’s origins were not happy and this book explores that and at times it can get a little slow but overall the magic that is Mr. Maguire’s writing pulls you out of those sections and the overall reading experience is like eating a sugar plum.4.5

A very beautifully told story, about the reimagining of the nutcracker. Not exactly the story of the nutcracker itself, but instead about the creator of the nutcracker, Heir Dirk Drosselmeier. I completely enjoyed listening to the entire audiobook, and about this guy’s life. I found it fascinating. I recommend it to others who might enjoy this story as well.For a much better written review, please read this one:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Recommended, and 4 stars.

Ah, los escritores que tienen su marca. Pegan un home run y lo más lógico es que sigan intentando batear de esa manera. Es normal, porque así se lo pedirán sus lectores. Se lo pedirán sus agentes. Su editorial. Los reseñadores. Y así, es muy fácil encasillarse. Puedo pensar en un par, independientemente de los méritos de sus historias. Creo yo, que entre los escritores que se han encasillado hay unos cuantos que sin la valentía de salirse de lo suyo desarrollan lo que saben hacer de una forma competente. Entra Gregory Maguire. Por eso es interesante leerlo. Porque fue el pionero en el perezoso arte de recontar cuentos de hadas y dentro de él, sigue siendo un exponente talentoso (muy probablemente el más). No fui fan de Wicked. Me pareció desenfocado, largo y accidentado, y muy poco directo en el mensaje que quería contar. Esto, por supuesto, sabiendo que el famoso musical era más ligero de tono y un poco más optimista. El meter la mano y expandir a golpe de worlbuilding la novela de Baum le salió bastante bien, pero con una historia que se habría beneficiado de más claridad. En Hiddensee no tuvo que expandir un worldbuilding ya creado. Tuvo que investigar y conjuntar con su mano diferentes tradiciones para explicar la historia de uno de los personajes más misterioros del Cascanueces. La investigación le salió impecable, pues la era del romanticismo alemán y sus semillas de nacionalismo que habrían de ir in crescendo hasta la conclusión que todos conocemos es retratada a la perfección, junto con apariciones y menciones oblicuas a los cuentos de hadas clásicos que fueron recolectados en esta época. En este mundo, como señala la reseña de Tor, el joven Dirk vive un cuento de hadas en reversa, saliendo de un mundo de fantasía para enfrentarse a una vida en el mundo real. Así, la novela es completamente moderna en este sentido. Y lo mejor es que no eviscera ni reexamina el famoso cuento originario. Aquí, las motivaciones del trasfondo del libro son más claras. Tal vez porque nos lo dicen en la sinopsis, pero allá van la melancólica vida de Dirk Drosselmeier en su lucha por encontrarse a sí mismo y por tocar la vida de aquellas personas desdichadas con las que se encuentra en su camino. Una a una, hasta culminar con Clarita, la historia de Dirk es una historia de fallas, de melancolía y de añoranzas. Me temo que no es una historia feliz, ni una que dé esperanzas o que maraville. Es una historia muy moderna, muy adulta y en este sentido, una que niega la redención por medio de la fantasía. Hay algo que no me termina de convencer de Maguire. No sé si sea mi propia indisposición a los retellings. No sé si sea su estilo danzarín a través de la trama con hechos fantásticos que, incluso con un poco de mejora en el enfoque, me siguen pareciendo desperdigados y dislocados por todas partes.Me pareció curioso que la novela haya tenido tan poco eco, pese a las entusiastas reseñas en Kirkus y en el Washington Post. No sé si la gente se haya cansado del estilo de Maguire o hayan sido de aquellos que fueron a maravillarse al teatro y salieron cantando Defying Gravity y en los libros se encontraron con algo muy distinto. Es un craso error, porque la valía de Maguire está ahí, a lo mejor para incomodarnos y para traernos a rastras a las realidades más desagradables de la vida. Y quién sabe, pero es muy probable que la historia de Dirk sea la historia de todos nosotros.

Another ARC from the nearby bookstore in exchange for a review and a promise to send it on to future readers. I've always been intrigued by Maguire's works, and did even make it through the Wicked series. Key phrase being that I made it through. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't nervous when I picked this off the ARC rack. I was pleasantly surprised at much easier it was to read through this than any of the books in the Wicked series. Really enjoyed the premise of an origin story for the Nutcracker. That was the biggest disappointment for me when it came to the book. I was expecting a very fanciful and magical tale on how the boy in the beginning became the Nutcracker and was treated to a fictional story about the life of its creator. The story of the otherworldly Nutcracker took a backseat and never really came to the forefront during my read-through. That was the only thing about the story that I had a hard time with, though. It's easy to see that Maguire has been doing this for awhile with how well-written this new book is. Gives me hope that I can come back other books of his in the future now that I have a better opinion of his work again.

Lovely rich novel about the transmission of culture, primarily through the oral tradition. Memories and stories change over time and storyteller. The reader is at a (dis)advantage because they can refer back to the "truths" laid down in a fixed medium. I wonder about the different per/reception of this novel by people who listened to the audio book.A story about the personal history of a storyteller, who mostly tells other people's stories. It is odd reading about a character who relies so much on sound in a fixed medium. The mentions and description of Bach and Chopin made me want to listen to them immediately. I tried putting them on the background, but they distracted me too much from the words. Did have some quibbles, mainly with how dialect was only glancingly addressed. Every mountain and valley in the Alps has its own version of German; people would be able to figure out your history just by listening to you speak (kind of like how each borough of New York has its own accent.) Oh wait, that is probably how Pfaffer Johannes identified Dirk's parents.TL;DR: Loved it, want to write a 100 page thesis about it.

Solid Christmas read.

Gregory has a way of making stories come to life

I'm out of the loop on Gregory Maguire, so it's always a pleasant surprise when I find a new book of his in the bookstore. I found Hiddensee in plain sight at a used bookstore in Portland, ME (it had been out long enough at that point to end up in a used bookstore). In Hiddensee, Maguire tells the tale of The Nutcracker from the point of view of Drosselmeyer, the godfather who creates and gifts the nutcracker, starting at his early childhood and ending where it must. My vague knowledge of the Nutcracker story comes only from the Tchaikovsky ballet; I know there is a girl who is given a nutcracker, and at some point she is transported to a fantasy world of large mice and candy, and it all takes place around Christmas. Due to my unfamiliarity, there were droplets of foundation for the Nutcracker story throughout Hiddensee that I didn't pick up on until, half-way through the book, I decided to read the Wikipedia article on "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." The first nod is a character who shares a last name with the girl at the center of the Nutcracker story. Walnuts also make an appearance, inspiring the creation of the nutcracker itself. When we finally meet the girl, she is named Marie-Claire, a combination of Marie from the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Clara as she is known in the Alexandre Dumas adaptation from which Tchaikovsky developed his ballet. She becomes known as Klara, mirroring the enduring existence of the Dumas/Tchaikovsky version in popular culture, eclipsing the original.Hiddensee is a great read whether you know the Nutcracker story or not. It has all the wit and whimsy you expect from Maguire, and the cleverly spun tale does not need a connection to a popular story to hold the reader's interest and keep the book moving. I reacquainted myself with Maguire a few years ago when I found After Alice on a front-of-store table, possibly in Book Court, may she rest in peace. Nearly nothing happens in that story, and I loved it. Maguire doesn't have to move very much to impress me (and although the main character in Hiddensee travels far, the story largely takes place in one of two cities in Bavaria, ending a few hundred kilometers from where it started). I'll continue to enjoy him as long as he keeps writing.

I loved this book so much, i posted about it on the author's facebook page:Dear Gregory Maguire, I just finished your most wonderful book and now my new favorite, "Hiddensee". It was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend, this last holiday. Life's turns and surprises delayed my reading over the months and now have finally finished this Sunday morning. My cup of tea caught numerous tears as i read the final chapters of Part Three, Coda and Nutcracker. This book has touched my heart in such a special way! I grew up with listening to the mysterious story of The Nutcracker and attending the ballet every Christmas throughout my childhood and far into adulthood. My great grandmother danced as Klara during her years as a ballerina in Switzerland and my grandfather always spoke about how that was her favorite role she ever danced. I've always wondered about mysterious Godfather Drosselmeier. Why does he have an eye patch? Who was he at one point? Why does he have a special attachment to Klara and why did he spend his life making toys? You answered all of my questions I've always had but never pursued finding out(for whatever reasons). Additionally, learning that you collect Nutrackers made my love for the book heighten instantly, but also my praise for you as an author and individual increase exponentially. I've been collecting Nutcrackers myself since i was in high school. Im 32 now and have around 20 so far. I pull them out every christmas and my boyfriend finds me nuts! (No pun intended). 😂 I haven't bought a new Nutcracker for years (i dont know why), but now i must! Thank you so very much for taking this story and breathing a new meaning into for me! For making Drosselmeier real and not just a mysterious figure. The Nutcracker and the Golden Walnut...i hope we can all find the key to our lost childhoods. The vision of the Nutcracker floating away to Hiddensee, with Drosselmeier in his "heart", i will forever cherish! Thank you so MUCH!!!

Completely enchanting and mesmerizing story of the life of Godfather Drosselmeier before (and during) Nutcracker. A tale about the lost fairy tale world that is childhood, and the invisible line between dreams and reality. Totally magical.