Gregory Maguire's books rarely make sense to me. The one I've loved was "After Alice" from a Goodreads giveaway. "Hiddensee" seemed to be stringing along a plot and I expected some explanation for Dirk's adventures. Not giving away spoilers, but what happened to him in his childhood was confusing. Only at the end of the book did Klara's adventures come up. I felt like most of the book was Dirk trying to figure out who he was and there weren't many answers to that. Nevertheless Maguire's writing is enchanting the way he describes far away landscapes and magic. This was perfect for winter and Christmastime, it's just not my favorite version of the nutcracker story.