You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed.

Or you are the only animal.

Who can think, who can reason, who can read.

Hi, welcome to bookworm.

My guest this afternoon is Maurice Sendak,

and, you know, it's a bookworm holiday whenever he's here.

The occasion for this visit is the republication in paperback

of ETA Hoffman's Nutcracker,

with pictures by Maurice Sendak, published by Crown.

This is the first real translation of Hoffman's Nutcracker into English.

It's a very beautiful translation by Ralph Mannheim.

And, you know, I thought we'd begin by talking about Hoffman because he's one of those authors that one loves without really liking.

Yeah. Or reading.

Yeah, yeah.

And I admit when I think previous to this project of The Nutcracker,

I don't know how much Hoffman I read.

The only thing I'd read because Freud had recommended it

was the Sandman, of course. And some of the short tales, I knew the minds of Falun, Falun, is that it?

And yes, I had, and Copilia, of course. But I didn't read The Nutcracker, actually. And I

haven't even read the long novelettes or short novels.

So I didn't know that much about him except he was a composer

...