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Lisa wrote: "Gem, I hope you get to feeling better!
I didn't know The Nutcracker itself was available on audiobook, and if so, which version might be interesting.
I do know that Hiddensee is on Hoopla.
The pas..."

Thanks. I use LibriVox for the classics. It takes a bit to get used to... in some books one or two chapters might be read by one person and the next couple by someone different. They often have more than one version so I always look at the ratings from other users, they are pretty much spot on when they say one is preferable over another. You can listen online or download.

A sister has finally been mentioned. Very much in an off hand way no idea how old she might be.

Wow, Adriel! You are pretty far into the book for them now to just be mentioning the sister. She wasn't a central character by any means, but was there from the beginning in my version. The sisters had matching special dresses hanging on the Christmas tree (which I thought was odd) and Marie decided not to put hers on until later because she enjoyed watching her sister in the dress.

Huh. I don't remember matching dresses at all.

I know that a lot of times stories are abridged 'silently' or discreetly. For example, children's stories written in Europe will have a reference to something that a puritanical American will see as too naughty, and a whole chapter will be cut, and the only way to know about it is to read the story in both languages. I believe the primary example my GR friend named was Pippi Longstocking.

I finished! Took me long enough, lol. The Librivox narrator was excellent.

I enjoyed the story, it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland given both girls fell asleep and have wild, crazy dreams. The very end of the story took me by surprise.

I am really glad I read this as it gives me some background on the Ballet. Tchaikovsky absolutely took liberties with the story but I think he did so masterfully. I don't think the original story would have lent itself to the Ballet if he didn't make some adjustments.

I used to take my girls to see The Nutcracker every year when they still lived at home. Now they are grown one is 37 with two kids of her own, the other is 27 and engaged.

I'm going to go back and read through the discussion as I've only been skimming to date, I didn't want to read any spoilers.

Cheryl wrote: "I look forward to reading it as soon as I can get my old eyes under bright sunlight to see the small font and the detailed paintings.."
Preach! I have a pair of magnifying glasses that clip onto my regular glasses for needlework. I have used those to read on occasion. I can't see instructions on pill bottles and such anymore. I used to laugh at my mother, now I am my mother.

Shanna wrote: "If I’m being honest, I hate the nutcracker. It’s always creeped me out. There are parts that feel like a drug or alcohol induced vision and creepy older men and it just gives me the heebie jeebies."

So funny, I've always said that Lewis Caroll must have been high when he wrote Alice in Wonderland.

I do think this selection has a more cohesive story than Alice in Wonderland. There are times I just do not follow Alice and I've read it a few times.

Lisa wrote: "What is the age of the younger daughter (the main character) in your version and what is her name?"

I said before I wasn't aware of the older sister but when I listened to the story this morning, there she was. And Maria was seven, the youngest.

In the beginning, when the children were not allowed in the parlor (and another room, I don't remember which one ) I understand because the parents were setting things up for Christmas Eve. But it specifically said the room the children were in had no light. That was... strange. This makes me believe that there may be some translation errors where the original uses archaic language that doesn't mean the same thing it does today.

As an adult, I didn't/don't mind dark. I actually enjoy dark stories. I've a copy of the Grimm Fairy Tales that were translated from the original two publications before they began sanitizing them for children. I've also read some of the Colored Fairy Books and some of those tales are dark as well. I'm not sure I would read this version of The Nutcracker to a young child, an older one but not a little one.

I found the godfather to be grumpy, kind of like yelling out the front window for the kids to "get off my lawn." I did tell a scary story... seven-headed mouse, another mouse being stepped on, etc. But I didn't catch anything that hinted at him being inappropriate with the girl. Maybe I missee something.

I didn't get any vibes of inappropriate behavior from the godfather either, just grumpiness and odd stories. The fact that he is the children's godfather made me consider the different ways godparents are chosen. Generally, now it seems to be the one or ones you would want to be your child's guardian if something would happen to you as the parent, and a person to help influence the child morally as they grow. In the case of the godfather in The Nutcracker, I got the opinion that he was possibly just a wealthy relative or friend (although the mother definitely seemed to have reservations about him).

I can see the comparison to Alice in Wonderland in some of the oddities and dream scope, but I personally find Alice in Wonderland much more enjoyable. To me it is more whimsical. Alice has always been one of Shanna's favorites.
I noticed the room the children were waiting in being dark too and thought it somewhat odd. However, the children were together and once they started talking about what gifts they thought they would get, their fear seemed to diminish. I think it was because when the story was written, there wasn't electricity in homes like we are used to. Most lighting was in the form of lanterns and candles still. So having the children in a darkened room really increased their awe factor when the doors were opened up to reveal the lit up tree.

Lisa wrote: "However, the children were together and once they started talking about what gifts they thought they would get, their fear seemed to diminish. I think it was because when the story was written, there wasn't electricity in homes like we are used to. Most lighting was in the form of lanterns and candles still. So having the children in a darkened room really increased their awe factor when the doors were opened up to reveal the lit up tree."

Really good points which didn't cross my mind. Thanks!

I think godparents in this form are still very common in Europe. Every baptism in church over here often in has two or three godparents, very rarely are they intended guardians but quite often are meant to be good influences. Tim said he usually would see his godparents on his birthday when they would give him a gift but not very often otherwise.

Hard to be a good influence if they are rarely seen. But this godfather definitely gave them gifts - very elaborate gifts. I think he was also someone expected to financially take care of the children if something happened to the father.

Right finished did skip quite a few days for chapters but thought we would finish it today. River and I both found it a very odd story. They certainly got married at a very young age but maybe it's just showing how some girls dream of getting married and living in a fantasy world...

Exactly. The whole marriage thing to me was kind of confusing. I kept wondering if it was supposed to be real, like the nutcracker actually did turn into the nephew or if it was still part of the dream.

One of the themes of Hiddensee is reincarnation, which was kind of part of the original in a way if you think that the nutcracker turned into the actual Drossermeir nephew. In my version it seemed more like that was part of the dream since at the end the mother was having the children put all the toys away.

I'm def. looking forward to reading Hiddensee!

I now most of us have finished this story and have moved on to Hiddensee but I belong to another group that is reading this story this month as well. There was a reply there that I found extremely informative and thought it might shed some light on this selection. It's message #33 in this discussion: Catching up on the Classics

So cool that two of your groups could read the same thing this month, Gem! Thanks for the link. I agree that in this day and age it is definitely not for young children, at least not without guidance, or depending on the child.
It is my intention to finish Hiddensee this week, and will gladly continue the discussion even into January. Please don't feel obligated to read it. December is such a busy month and honestly, The Nutcracker turned out to be a deeper discussion than expected, but has been very enjoyable!

Thank you for the link, Gem. That's a good discussion! I'll have to look for The Serapion Brethren Volume I.

Cheryl wrote: "Thank you for the link, Gem. That's a good discussion! I'll have to look for The Serapion Brethren Volume I."

My pleasure.