Scan barcode
effaly's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the beginning, but it quickly became very disturbing. People died, were brutally murdered and rasped out their last words while lying in a puddle of their own blood. It's not something I expected in a children's book! And the end was just confusing. Not sure I understood what was going on there.
the_sunken_library's review against another edition
4.0
Possibly one of the more insane children's stories I have ever read. A very enjoyable, sweet tale of a little girl and a nutcracker and how she helped him to defeat a 7-headed mouse king tyrant.
In parts the translation was confusing - the author kept altering who he was speaking to, wavering from "my dear audience" to "attentive Fritz" and "young dear Marie" etc and often the exchanges between characters would be illogical i.e. Marie watches princesses make sweets and wants to join in. But the next sentence says "as if they read the nutcracker's mind, one of the Princesses offers Marie a bowl to pound up rock candy". Not sure if its a mistranslation or the author was deliberately muddling things up.
Overall, a magical little tale. Inspired to see the infamous ballet it informed.
In parts the translation was confusing - the author kept altering who he was speaking to, wavering from "my dear audience" to "attentive Fritz" and "young dear Marie" etc and often the exchanges between characters would be illogical i.e. Marie watches princesses make sweets and wants to join in. But the next sentence says "as if they read the nutcracker's mind, one of the Princesses offers Marie a bowl to pound up rock candy". Not sure if its a mistranslation or the author was deliberately muddling things up.
Overall, a magical little tale. Inspired to see the infamous ballet it informed.
alex2_0's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
3.75
Cute bedtime story
8797999's review against another edition
4.0
Cute and enjoyable, one of those things you're aware of but likely never read. Very familiar with the music from the ballet. Have never seen it but maybe a treat for next Christmas.
jana_of_the_wind's review against another edition
3.0
3,75/5 ⭐️
Such a whimsical, magical Christmas story, which I enjoyed a lot especially the description of the candy land at the end. However I disliked the horroresque/creepy aspects of the story. I mean a sevenheaded mouse threatening to chew up a little girl. Gotta say that’s kinda terrifying. Also why are adults so cruel? They belittle the protagonist, Marie, and talk down to her like all the time.
Such a whimsical, magical Christmas story, which I enjoyed a lot especially the description of the candy land at the end. However I disliked the horroresque/creepy aspects of the story. I mean a sevenheaded mouse threatening to chew up a little girl. Gotta say that’s kinda terrifying. Also why are adults so cruel? They belittle the protagonist, Marie, and talk down to her like all the time.
seven17teenblack's review against another edition
4.0
I can only imagine how much the English translation must suck because I don‘t think someone would be able to translate the complexity of such a story and its language.
The story is pretty much Hoffmann and the reader can clearly sense his repetitive motives; the puppets, the scary characters (Coppelius in The Sandman, Archivarius in The Golden Pot and Drosselmeier here) and the main character‘s delusion. But the story doesn‘t appear to be boring at all. Especially the fairytale makes the whole work itself look like a nut; it all builds up to the climax, which happens to be the inserted fairytale in the middle, while the beginning and the end lay around it like a shell. Hoffmann really showed off.
Would highly recommend reading this if you‘re into romantic literature.
The story is pretty much Hoffmann and the reader can clearly sense his repetitive motives; the puppets, the scary characters (Coppelius in The Sandman, Archivarius in The Golden Pot and Drosselmeier here) and the main character‘s delusion. But the story doesn‘t appear to be boring at all. Especially the fairytale makes the whole work itself look like a nut; it all builds up to the climax, which happens to be the inserted fairytale in the middle, while the beginning and the end lay around it like a shell. Hoffmann really showed off.
Would highly recommend reading this if you‘re into romantic literature.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
I have now experienced a huge winter classic and it was worth it. Though, I think my problems were rooted in translation issues.