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.