The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman: A (weird) Classic Christmas Story

The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman Hardcover, 69 pg. Fahrenheit Press, 2021 Read: December 20, 2021

What’s The Nutcracker About?

This is a story about a little girl who gets a nutcracker from her toy-making godfather. But this is no ordinary nutcracker: it’s magical—it’s a prince trapped in a wooden figure until he’s freed (like Belle’s Beast).

At night, this Nutcracker comes to life (like Buzz, Woody, and the rest) to do battle against the mice in the girl’s palace. The war between the Nutcracker and the mice—in particular, the seven-headed Mouse King, goes back to when the Nutcracker was human, and wages on.

And then things get weird…

A Couple of Confessions

I’m part of the probably 5-15% of Western Culture who needed the above, many of you probably rolled your eyes at me including that. But:

1. Until I got the newsletter from Fahrenheit Press talking about this release, I had no idea that this novel existed. Obviously, I knew about the ballet and a handful of the adaptations of it. But a novel started it all? What rock was I living under to have missed that?

2. I have never watched the ballet, or finished any of the various adaptations. I get bored, or distracted, or just decide it’s just a mess of a show. Maybe now that I’ve actually read the novel, I can make persevere to the end.

One Thing I’d Like to Know

Before the text itself, there’s a…it’s not really an epigraph or epigram, it’s too short to be an Author’s Note—well, maybe it’s the right length for that, I guess we should go with that. In it, Hoffman praises his skill and genius, not to mention the value of the book.

Now, I don’t know enough about the guy to know if he’s the world’s most delusional and/or arrogant writer—or is it satire? My gut says the latter, but I don’t know. Maybe he is the Narcissus of Prussian Literature. Do any of you know?

This Particular Edition

For the last two Decembers, Fahrenheit Press has hit pause on their particular brand of noir publishing to publish nice editions of Classic Christmas stories*.

This one came in a very nice hardcover with a great cover that is both on-brand for them and evocative of the story. It’s one of those hardcovers that’s going to last a while and is pretty enough to deserve it. You should absolutely try to get your hands on one while they’re still available.

* They also do some great charity work at this time of year, even as a struggling indie press, an example to us all.

So, what did I think about The Nutcracker?

The fantastical elements of this story were great—and the way it bounced back and forth between fantasy and reality—or make-believe and reality, if you’re Marie’s family—were wonderful. It was likely that Hoffman looked at the rules for story-telling around that, shrugged, and then did whatever he wanted to. The imagination behind it was truly impressive and I can tell why it’s inspired so many people to create works based on it.

The style, too, was fantastic—it’s a great way to tell a story. His word choice (and that of whoever translated this) were delightful. I felt like I was reading a descendant of things like Arabian Nights and The Brothers Grimm and a forerunner of writers like Lewis Carroll and William Goldman (The Princess Bride not Marathon Man). Although I will admit it occasionally left me a little bored—it was like he laid it on too thick from time to time, and I just couldn’t sustain my interest when that happened. Too much of a good thing, I guess.

It was a nice little book. I’m not saying I’m a convert to the story of the prince, the magic toys, and the seven headed-rat or anything. But I can see myself reading it again from time to time–I can definitely see this as a great thing to read this time of year to a kid if I had any around.