The Kingdom of Sweets

  ‘'A woman drew her long black       hair out tightAnd fiddled whisper music on      those stringsAnd bats with baby faces in the          violet lightWhistles, and beat their wingsAnd crawled head downward      down a blackened wallAnd upside down in air were     towers Tolling reminiscent bells, that    kept the hoursAnd voices singing out of empty   cisterns and exhausted   wells.''                           -The Waste Land                                    T.S.Eliot
This is not the glorious, Christmassy, crystal-clear world of The Nutcracker as we have come to know it from E.T.A Hoffman's original story. This is a Gothic world where chocolate resembles blood, where the moon is black, where the Fairy is the Devil and the Kingdom of Sweets is Hell.
And this book is much better than the original. In fact, it is a masterpiece.
‘'Fallen angels, old pagan gods, animal spirits...it matters not which mythology you hunt through, you will find the same thing: creatures who despise mankind. They await our downfall, speed it along when they can. They seek vengeance upon us.''‘'For what?''‘'For being shut out of the light.''
One of the most fascinating quotes I've ever read!
Two sisters are fighting over a man. The Light and the Dark, creations and pawns of Godfather Drosselmeyer. The heart of our story is Natasha, the Dark Sister, the one who has the brains and the courage to stand her ground. To seek justice and vengeance, to commit what one may deem as unethical acts to make others face their sins. She faces ordeals where there should be none, starting with the hatred of her empty-headed sister whose only worth is measured in beauty and sexual prowess. 
‘'You are the dark sister. You always see. You're doomed to see.''
She is kind to those who are viewed as nothing more than ‘servants' and fiery against the ones who pollute the world with their presence. She faces mirrors of darkness, figures lurking behind her, disturbing her peace of mind. She faces screaming women and threatening ornaments. Most importantly, she faces the thwarting of her childhood dreams. She faces pure wrath at a time when dead bodies of young men are washed ashore, an era of upheaval. She is one of the most fascinating characters I've ever encountered in a novel, the creation of an extraordinary literary mind.
‘'Who knew what trees really thought,, long after we had taken them for pleasure and use, twisting them into shapes never intended? Who knew what memories even the dead wood might hold?''
Erika Johansen created a novel that reminded me of Goya's Pinturas Negras. It is twisted and poignant and moving, a world of dark fairytales, of the eternal fight between Good and Evil, exceptionally portrayed. The writing is outstanding, the characters step out of the pages and parade before the reader's eyes. The dialogue is almost poetic and Natasha is the perfect guide to a story that goes so much deeper than a simple fairytale. Johansen touches upon themes that concern us all, commenting on mental health, repercussions and consequences and moments that changed the course of History in the most violent and vilest manner. I think we all know what comes to mind when we read the following quote:
‘'There is no revolution for man, not really. I have observed your kind since the dawning. They mean well. They wish to slay monsters. But murder begets murder, and so your heroes invariably become monsters themselves.''
Rich in beautiful, evocative descriptions, brave, elegantly dark. The last few pages chronicling the butchers of the Russian Revolution and their communist nightmare are outstanding and frightening. The setting of New York during the book's final part is heart-warming and fascinating. The ending is PERFECTION.
‘'Thank you to the teachers, who do the most important job there is.''              Erika Johansen
I have read hundreds of books. I have never encountered the tiniest example of gratitude from a writer to teachers and the sentence above warmed my heart. Therefore, thank you so much, Erika Johansen!
‘Whose blood is that?', I asked. ‘All of them, child.' She gasped, her breath beginning to falter now. ‘Pharaohs, Romans, Vikings...If you dug deep enough, you'd find Cain himself in there. This is the record of my dealings, and I give it to you.'
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