When babies Clara and Natasha were born to their parents on Christmas Day, it was thought to be a wonderful and lucky occurrence, until local sorcerer and moneylender Drosselmeyer showed up to their christening, uninvited, bestowing each baby girl with a "gift." For Clara, he announced Light and Natasha, Dark and from that day forward, their fates were sealed. Clara was blonde, beautiful, blue-eyed and popular, whereas Natasha was moody, studious, unattractive and generally ignored by everyone. Although the pair were the best of playmates, they quarreled often, as it was clear that Clara was the favored child of the two, her father even nicknaming her "apple." Even though a younger brother would appear several years later, Clara was always still the obvious favorite.
Every Christmas, the Stahlbaums would throw an elaborate party, both for the twins' birthday and also for Christmas, although money had been tighter lately due to some business problems and the Stahlbaums were very much in debt to Drosselmeyer, like many others in town. This Christmas was the girls' 17th birthday party and Natasha was very much in love with Conrad Liebermann, the son of a duke who had been secretly visiting her bedroom regularly for the past year, whereas Clara had revealed to Natasha just that day that she was pregnant with the bastard child of a local laborer, which very much did not fit her father's grand plans to wed her to a wealthy man. The party would take a dark turn when Drosselmeyer would announce Clara's surprise engagement, but also when he would unveil some very special gifts for Clara and Natasha.
An animated, life-sized ballerina for Clara and a frightening clown for Natasha are first revealed, then a nutcracker just for Clara (again, always the favored child), but it seemed to prefer Natasha, all on its own. After the animated toys wreak havoc on the evening, Natasha finds herself magically transported to a snowy, magical world, which is preferable to what she'd experienced on her birthday, so far.
Everywhere she looked, everything all around her appeared to be made from confectionaries. The sugary snow, a lamppost made of peppermint, a grove of lemon drop trees or a creek made from pink jelly, everything in this world looked like it was made for just for Clara, the lover of sweets. Once again, Natasha realizes she has simply followed after Clara, as she spies her sister up ahead with what appears to be a dashing Nutcracker prince, totally enamored with Clara. Naturally. Furious with her sister, she pursues Clara relentlessly, but when she arrives at a pink frosting castle, she meets an odd assortment of beautiful people, including the Sugar Plum Fairy, who also calls herself the Queen of Spades. It is there that the two strike a deal - Natasha will get the life she always dreamed of and, in exchange, she will invite the Sugar Plum Fairy into her world at a time she specifies, no questions asked. It seems like a dream come true, but as Natasha will soon discover, nothing in The Kingdom of Sweets is at it seems. What follows is a tale of betrayal, murder, deceit, and political upheaval in the time of the Bolshevik Revolution.
I have barely scratched the pink frosting surface of what happens in the book, but if you are intrigued by the magical set-up, you'll enjoy the payoff. The Kingdom of Sweets is a beautifully written and immersive novel that will keep you engaged to the last page. I love how Johansen didn't specifically mention Russia until the end of the book, instead dropping breadcrumbs such as vivid descriptions of famous players like Lenin and Rasputin and the happenings of the day. The story also doesn't get bogged down in the politics, but instead it is artfully meshed with the plot of the book. If you like your stories to be a bit on the fantastical side, but still have a basis in history, you'll love The Kingdom of Sweets. Erika Johansen will definitely be on my radar in the future.
