The master of the nutcracker
The Lord of the Nutcracker (Original title: Lord of the Nutcracker Men ) is a youth novel by the Canadian writer Iain Lawrence . It tells the story of a boy who spent the First World War with his aunt in Cliffe instead of London. From his father, who fought on the front, he regularly received letters that were initially full of confidence and enthusiasm for the war, but gradually told more and more of the horrors of the war. Topics such as war, growing up and humanity are dealt with from the perspective of a child.
The Nutcracker was published in 2001 by Delacorte Press in English and in 2004 in German by Verlag Freies Geistesleben . It was translated into German by Christoph Renfer .
The response from the press was positive; Franziska Augstein wrote in the Süddeutsche Zeitung: "The book deserves a prize, a youth book prize as big and thick as Johnny's rose-branched Guy Fawkes doll" ( Süddeutsche Zeitung ).
content
Ten-year-old Johnny lived with his parents in London shortly after the First World War began. His father, a toy maker, gave him a magnificent army of nutcrackers and is constantly expanding Johnny's repertoire to include French and English soldiers. He volunteers for the army and drives with the firm belief that he will be home again by Christmas. Johnny is sent to the country by his mother to live with his aunt Ivy. Johnny receives his first letter, along with a toy soldier, from his father, and from now on letters with soldiers from his father arrive regularly.
In his aunt's garden, Johnny reenacts the trench warfare of the real soldiers at the front with the toy soldiers, with the nutcrackers representing the German army. Sarah, whose father is a lieutenant, joins him.
Johnny experiences the effects of the war on Cliffe first hand. The postman with whom he spends the morning receives a telegram with a death notice that he has to deliver to the parents of the fallen man. Horrified by the scream that his mother, Mrs. Sims, utters, Johnny flees home, where his teacher Mr. Tuttle is waiting for him and his truancy is punished with weekly individual lessons. This time a figure is attached to the father's letter depicting the father himself. Johnny proudly places them on his battlefield.
The father's letters are slowly becoming darker than the previous ones. In the garden, Johnny and Sarah play "surprise attack", with Sarah naturally taking over command. As on Johnny's battlefield, his father was actually involved in a surprise attack, which he reports extensively. While playing, Johnny meets the constable, a soldier and old friend of his father's, in whom he recognizes Murdoch Sims, who was the news of the death of Mr. and Mrs. Sims.
In his letter, the father announced that they were waiting for an attack by the Germans. In his game, Johnny and Sarah anticipate this battle. However, he breaks it off when he notices that the figure representing his father, unlike everyone else, is badly battered and even has a hairline crack.
The next day, Johnny learns that Sahra's father has died. Johnny is convinced that his game caused the death of Sarah's father. His father's character looks more and more battered and Johnny is afraid for his real father. The figure even breaks in two and has to be looked after by Aunt Ivy. Johnny hopes this doesn't repeat itself on the real battlefield. Johnny pelts his nutcrackers with stones and dirt late into the night in hopes of influencing the war. Once again he sees Murdoch, who seems increasingly sicker. However, on the stamp he gave him, there was a different name and nobody wanted to believe Johnny.
Now it is clear to Johnny that his father will not be returning home anytime soon. Nevertheless, he and Aunt Ivy put up a Christmas tree and invite Mr. Tuttle to spend Christmas with them.
Johnny meets Murdoch again in the forest, who is meanwhile dying and reveals his secret: he shot himself in the leg so that he would not have to fight any further and, when the doctors became suspicious, exchanged his identity with that of someone who had died in the hospital so as not to be executed for desertion. Full of shame, he doesn't dare to return home. Johnny has to tell Aunt Ivy about Murdoch because he left his coat with him. They take him to Mr. Tuttle's house, where he will be nursed back to life. Mr. and Mrs. Sims are also informed and visit their son. Johnny and Aunt Ivy celebrate Christmas with Mr. Tuttle. Johnny puts his soldiers in a box, where they stay until the end of the war.
Towards the end, the book offers a glimpse into the future: Johnny's father survived the war and returns home four years later as an old man, his mother dies a few years after the end of the war. Aunt Ivy and Mr. Tuttle get married and Murdoch, whose secret is kept by the whole village, becomes a good friend to Johnny.
characters
main characters
Johnny Biggs
Johnny is the protagonist of the book. It was about ten years old when the First World War broke out and at first was swept away by the general enthusiasm for the war. In his aunt's garden he reenacts war with his toy soldiers and is firmly convinced that he can influence real war with his game. Johnny has little contact with the other children in the village, only Sarah plays with him now and then.
Mr. Biggs
Johnny's father is a toy maker, "the best in London" (p. 7). When the minimum size of the army is reduced, he volunteers for military service. From the front he regularly sends Johnny letters and carved soldiers who often refer to current events and his father's mood. He survived the war and returned to London in 1918, but was "emaciated and aged" (p. 217).
Aunt Ivy
Johnny's aunt is single and lives in a remote house with a large garden in Cliffe. She is the father's sister and takes in Johnny in October 1914. Johnny doesn't like her and calls her "Auntie Scratch Brush" (p. 18). Characteristic are “the clatter of their shoes and the heavy clothing rubbing against their legs” (p. 27), two noises that always accompany them. In every free minute she knits socks for the soldiers at the front.
Minor characters
Mr. Tuttle
Mr. Tuttle is the village teacher. His wife passed away at a young age and the only thing that remains of her are her roses, which Mr. Tuttle takes care of. When he catches Johnny truant, he orders weekly private lessons. Throughout the hours, Johnny develops a close relationship with Mr. Tuttle. Aunt Ivy is also clearly fond of the teacher. After the war they get married.
Mrs. Biggs
Johnny's mother also writes letters to her son regularly. In it she mainly reports that despite the shortage of men in the companies, no women are employed. She eventually returns to her old job in the Arsenal in Whoolwich, not far from London, as she too wants to make her contribution. Since she worked there daily with poisonous substances, her hands were soon discolored yellow and "she never got rid of this ugly color" (p. 216). In 1923 she probably dies of the consequences of this work “as a young, beautiful woman” (p. 216).
Sarah
Sarah is the "only person who was nice to [Johnny]" (p. 27) But unfortunately she is a girl "and that was almost as bad as not having a boyfriend at all" (p. 27). Her father is a lieutenant and Sarah is very knowledgeable about warfare, which is why she often takes command of the game. After her father falls, she no longer plays with Johnny, whom she too is convinced that what happens in miniature in Aunt Ivy's garden also happens in real war.
Murdoch Sims
Murdoch Sims fought on the front lines until he shot himself in the leg in desperation. On the crossing to England a comrade died of his injuries and Murdoch assumed his identity, since he suspected that the doctors had suspected him and that he was to be executed for desertion. Full of fear and shame, he cannot return to his parents' house and wanders through the Cliffe forest, where he meets Johnny several times. After he escapes death with Johnny's help, the whole village keeps his secret and he writes under a pseudonym.
Web links
- Reading sample of the [insert website link in the original language] and [insert website link in German language] version of the book
- Original language and German language publisher website for the book
- Author's website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Review Süddeutsche Zeitung plan, December 13, 2004 (accessed on 8 July 2019)