The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
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Book Reviews of The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Book Review: Curiouser and curiouser
Summary: 5 Stars
No one can really summarize a book any better than the author proper. So what is, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" anyway? "... this is not exactly a novel, and it's not quite a picture book, and it's not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things." In short, what you have is a book that can't really be lumped into a single genre. With the rising popularity of the graphic novel, authors have been looking at how to let the visual elements of a given story complement the text. Some will weave graphic novel elements in and out, panels on one page, text on another. Others prefer a kind of "Captain Underpants" melding with cartoonish pictures. And while all these books are fun reads, none of them have ever really had the (for lack of a better word) gravitas you'd find in a classic text-only children's novel. Until now, that is. "Hugo Cabret" is a risk. A 500+ page book that's told just equally by pictures as it is by text. It is also like nothing you've ever seen before. No other children's book has even come close.
Without Hugo Cabret, none of the clocks in the magnificent Paris train station he lives in would work. Though he's only a kid, Hugo tends to the clocks every day. But there's something even more important in the boy's life than gigantic mechanics. Hugo owns a complex automaton, once his father's, that was damaged in a fire and it is his life's goal to make the little machine work again. To do so, he's been stealing small toys from an old shopkeeper in the station. One day the man catches Hugo in the act, and suddenly the two are thrown together. Coincidences, puzzles, lost keys, and a mystery from the past combine in this complex tale of old and new. The story is told with pictures that act out the action and then several pages of text that describe the plot elements. The final effect is like watching a puzzle work itself into clarity.
Selznick is juggling so many different elements and inspirations in this book that you honestly expect the result to be a muddle. Okay. So you have a story involving old-timey movie-maker Georges Melies (he's the old shopkeeper) whose image in this book was modeled on children's book author Remy Charlip (also an influence). You have an automaton, the history of automatons, and the history of movies themselves. There are photographs of old films mixed in with some bizarre sketches. Then you throw all of this together and add in a story about a boy, a girl, a one-eyed man, toys, keys, and a train station. Boom! Instant book. The fact that this title ISN'T a mess is downright bizarre.
They say that the mark of a good musical depends on how well the songs advance the story's plot. You can't just have your characters burst into song and then act like nothing ever happened. The case could be made too for books like "Hugo Cabret". If there is a picture in this story, it has a purpose. Nothing here was included on a whim. When the book breaks from word to image, it has to be done just right. It has to feel natural. At one point in "Hugo Cabret" our hero is nearly trapped by the Station Inspector. The book reads, "The Station Inspector saw the bandages and loosened his grip, at which point, like a wild animal, Hugo escaped." What follows is a thirty-six page chase sequence that comes across like a black and white film. And the real star of this show, in the end, is Selznick's art. The man is doing things with mood and lighting that give the book just the right mysterious feel. Selznick's pictures are done, for the most part in graphite with plenty of shading involved. At the same time, he knows how to get the viewer involved in what they are seeing. There are moments where the "camera" is zooming in on a particular shot and instantly gets your attention. In the book's opening, we begin with a shot of the moon that pulls back and follows young Hugo. Then suddenly, we see Hugo look over his shoulder and the picture hits you hard. We're on the eighteen or nineteenth page and already we're deeply interested in what we're seeing. We want to know more. Hugo does have some magnificent bags under his eyes at times, and he and the old man's granddaughter Isabelle sometimes look rather similar, but on the whole it's hard to find anything wrong with what Selznick has chosen to place in this book.
Admittedly, not everything works as smoothly as it might. Selznick has to keep everything in this story moving constantly. Nobody wants to see picture after picture of people just sitting around and talking, after all. So really, the downside to this kind of book is that some degree of characterization and description is lost in favor of plot and theme. The kids in this book go from liking one another, to hating, to liking again in a manner that feels a tad awkward. Motivations are sometimes murky, even if they're explained later down the line.
But the allure of this book for kids can't be stressed enough. Selznick is most familiar to children, at this point in time, because of his covers of such Andrew Clements books as "Frindle" and "School Story". When kids see a Selznick cover, they know to grab it. Children who like big thick Harry Potter-sized tomes will pluck the multi-colored "Hugo Cabret" from its shelves without hesitation. Ironically, though, this is a perfect title for reluctant readers. Though the page count will scare off some, those who've been shown the insides will appreciate this unfamiliar form of storytelling. Unlike a graphic novel or a picture book, however, you can't understand "Hugo Cabret" through pictures alone. You can try, I guess, but you end up with a very different tale from the one Selznick has written. The nice thing is that in spite of all the complicated details and influences at work here, the story itself is straightforward and interesting.
Extra kudos for the spine of this title, by the way. Publishing houses too often forget that sometimes the spine of a book is all a customer is ever going to see of a title. And if there were a Best Spine of the Year Award, I think I know who the winner might be. The spine and back are of Hugo's face, lit from the side. Just his left eye and part of his cheek are visible on the spine, with the title, author, and publisher information shoved to the bottom. It's haunting. Does haunting sell? You bet your sweet bippy it does.
It's hard to say whether or not this kind of format would work with any other book. Really, it's the fact that so much of "Hugo Cabret"'s plot revolves around black and white movies that allows this book to jump so easily between image and text. If you did something similar with a story about, oh I dunno, a lion in the jungle, it might feel odd. But given Selznick's subject matter and his careful use of both his own illustrations, movie stills, and sketches, the book holds together. The writing is second to the illustrations, but it's still heads and tales better than most of the crummy kidlit you'll stumble across. Sometimes you hold a book in your hands and it feels like a classic from day one. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" radiates that feeling.
Book Review: Abra-cadabra -- the Amazing Hugo Cabret!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ala-Kazam ... Abra-cadabra ... Voila. Hugo Cabret is AMAZING!! I read this book in about 3.5 hours, since I am only an average reader. But despite my mediocre reading skills, I must confess that I simply could NOT put this book down. And I must read it again tout a suite!
Now, when I say that this book is "amazing," I do not mean to hackney the word. I say it because this book is "MAGICAL" in more than one way, and is superlative in multifarious ways. Allow me to elucidate:
1. For those who like books which are pure FUN and free from the banalised "sophistications" which are so very ubiquitous in many of todays "children's books," this book is a BREATH of Fresh Air.
Parents, you can feel free to let your child read "at will" without
fear of them serendipitously receiving a 16-year old's social education.
None of that tripe in this book.
2. For you movie lovers (like me), this book honours one of the earliest pioneers and trail-blazers in motion pictures.
3. For you who love the CLEVER ARTS, such as sleight-of-hand, this is a nod of the head to that fine science. Very finely done magic is always compelling, and this book shows what FUN it can be.
4. For you who enjoy what we call a good Bildungsroman novel will enjoy this book. Why? It is so VERY finely BALANCED. The main character, Hugo is not your average 12-year old with humdrum experiences. He is pressed into surpassing most children his age due to his dire circumstances. He had to learn new things in order to survive.
And yet, he is equally sensitive, conscientious, and works hard at being responsible, despite his entrenched habit for petty thievery. Hugo is one of the most 3-dimensional characters I have ever run across. He literally LEAPS OFF the page to the reader. By this time, the reader no longer sees words on the pages, but IMAGES only, and I am not talking about Selznick's illustratiions, either.
5. The final 2 chapters are innovative on the STORYLINE-level. I cannot give away the plot, but Oooooh!! I love the juicy twists at the
latter sections of this fun, fun romp!
6. For those who are like me who have a 12-year old kid living inside of an adult body (as it were), you love COOL "Hidey-hole" passages, Hidden stairways, Maizes, or Nifty Hangouts which NO one knows about. You MUST read this book. It satisfies the longing for the Mysterious and also the longing for SAFETY. Without doubt, there HAVE been people who have lived in World-class cities who dwelt in sub-levels or sub-terrainian areas UNSEEN to the untrained eye. My relish for the combination of unseen realms in connexion to safe-havens is gorgeously met in this book.
7. Lastly, Selznick is also conscientious. He is a writer who considers DETAILS important. So do I. Details is where QUALITY is normally found in most any well-constructed, creative venture. In this instance, something as secondary as the book's dust-jacket simply GRABS you, with Hugo's face doing the labour. What it amounts to is a three-quarter view of the Hugo's face between the spine and p. [4], of the Cover. It is VERY innovative . . . and such a real face with deep longing and wistful dreams in his lucid eyes.
Grab the book--Seize it--Turn the pages--can't put it down--Don't want to put it down--It's just TOO good--DREAM the images--Ala-Kazam!--It's Magic!!!
Book Review: The Ultimate Page Turner
Summary: 5 Stars
Fans of thrilling books are fond of calling them "page turners." Why? Because you can hardly wait to see what happens next. Those are the books that keep you up late at night to get to the end.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret delivers a whole new kind of pager turner, one where you not only want to see what happens next . . . but where the act of turning the page often gives you powerful glimpses into the story. How? Hand-drawn images tell a story in motion using many motion picture techniques (close-ups, fades, and pans). A sequence of images might go on for 40 pages (as the opening sequence does) before providing any dialogue. Unlike a graphic novel, there is no dialog or narration on the images. Since you don't know if the next turn of a page will reveal an image or text, you also have that extra dimension of surprise. The other difference from the traditional page turner is that this book won't take you that long to read. It's more like the duration of a motion picture than of reading a 525 page novel. So don't let the book's bulk intimidate you.
The story takes place in the early days of the Depression in Paris. Hugo Cabret is a 12-year-old boy who loses his parents and is taken in by his uncle, a timekeeper in a railway station. The uncle makes Hugo do all of the work, but won't even feed Hugo who has to turn to stealing in order to eat. When the uncle disappears, Hugo is left to fend for himself. But Hugo has a dream. He will repair an automaton (an early type of robot) that he rescued from a museum fire. Part of his thievery is aimed at taking parts from a tiny toy store in the station to help rebuild the automaton. One day Hugo is caught! That capture sets new wheels in motion that will change the lives of the key characters permanently.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret evolves like an unfolding mystery. Be cautious that you don't read reviews that reveal too many details. It would be very easy to spoil this story for you!
Although the publisher's indication is that this book will appeal to 9-12 year olds, I also think that younger children would enjoy having this book read to them, especially those who show a fondness for mechanical things. But most adults will find the book to be at least as interesting as the 9-12 year olds will. That's true both because the story is compelling and because of the novel story-telling methods.
The illustrations deserve special comment. These were produced after a lot of care to reflect the scenes of the time. I could recognize the sources of many images from various sources: photographs, paintings, museums, train stations, and motion pictures. Those images echoed in my memory to give the book an extra sense of authenticity, reality, and relevance. The drawings themselves continually reminded me of Seurat's early work while also capturing many of the better aspects of early comic book art.
The experience of reading the story is much like following a labyrinth in a haunted castle: It's always unclear where we are headed, but the trip itself seems quite rewarding. The black-and-white images nicely capture the mood of the characters and of the times as many noir films did in using lots of light and shadow. In fact, the images here could be story boards for a motion picture.
Be prepared for the magic!
Book Review: Selznick's novel is a real breakthrough in storytelling technique
Summary: 5 Stars
You know that feeling when you're sitting in a movie theater and the lights dim? The audience hushes, the curtain opens, the music starts to play, and suddenly you feel as if anything can happen, as if your very dreams could be projected up there on the screen.
OK, on the other hand, maybe you don't know --- or remember --- that feeling at all. In this age of megaplexes, stadium seating, DVDs and home theater systems, it's hard to imagine a time when going to the movies was truly a magical experience. In his fascinating new novel, THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, Brian Selznick brilliantly recaptures this feeling and repackages it for a new generation.
Selznick's reputation up until now has been primarily as an illustrator, so it's no coincidence that nearly half the novel's pages consist of wonderfully detailed line drawings. What's remarkable about the way Selznick uses illustrations, though, is that the pictures --- often as much as the text --- help to tell the story, to set a scene, even to develop characters.
Take the novel's opening pages, for example. On the first two-page spread, we see a full moon peeking out of a small white box in the middle of a sea of black. On the next page, the box opens up to reveal more of the sky. Likewise, in the third and fourth pages, the black border (like movie theater curtains) retracts to reveal the Paris skyline. Subsequent pages focus on the Paris train station, and finally settle in on one particular boy in the teeming, bustling crowd inside.
That boy is Hugo Cabret, whom we proceed to meet in the text that follows. Hugo is a lonely boy, an orphan who has been charged with maintaining the many clocks in the train station. Hugo secretly lives in the station, too, stealing what he needs to get by. This includes not only food, but also small mechanical toys from the grouchy old gentleman who runs a toy shop in the station. Hugo needs the parts to help him repair the clocks --- and to try to fix his greatest secret and most prized possession.
It's an automaton, an incredibly intricate mechanical man. Hugo's father found the machine and spent years trying to fix it. After his father's death, Hugo is determined to fix the automaton. After all, the automaton's mechanism should allow it to write --- maybe even to pass on a message from Hugo's dead father. If only he could find a way to make it work!
Soon enough, though, Hugo's thefts get him in big trouble with the toy shop owner. Hugo's new connection to the man and his busybody goddaughter seems to threaten the future of the automaton as well as Hugo's own well-guarded secrets. Or could it be that these new acquaintances are just what Hugo needs after all?
Inspired by real historical characters and films, Selznick's novel is a real breakthrough in storytelling technique. By using illustrations --- including not only his intricate drawings but also film stills and other archival photos --- to further the plot, establish setting and even develop his characters, Selznick's spare prose seems to gain gravity and importance as well. Readers will pore over not only the illustrations, but also the words, which are rarely wasted and often contain real wisdom.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Book Review: Readers will pore over not only the illustrations, but also the words, which are rarely wasted and often contain real wisdom.
Summary: 5 Stars
You know that feeling when you're sitting in a movie theater and the lights dim? The audience hushes, the curtain opens, the music starts to play, and suddenly you feel as if anything can happen, as if your very dreams could be projected up there on the screen.
OK, on the other hand, maybe you don't know --- or remember --- that feeling at all. In this age of megaplexes, stadium seating, DVDs and home theater systems, it's hard to imagine a time when going to the movies was truly a magical experience. In his fascinating new novel, THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, Brian Selznick brilliantly recaptures this feeling and repackages it for a new generation.
Selznick's reputation up until now has been primarily as an illustrator, so it's no coincidence that nearly half the novel's pages consist of wonderfully detailed line drawings. What's remarkable about the way Selznick uses illustrations, though, is that the pictures --- often as much as the text --- help to tell the story, to set a scene, even to develop characters.
Take the novel's opening pages, for example. On the first two-page spread, we see a full moon peeking out of a small white box in the middle of a sea of black. On the next page, the box opens up to reveal more of the sky. Likewise, in the third and fourth pages, the black border (like movie theater curtains) retracts to reveal the Paris skyline. Subsequent pages focus on the Paris train station, and finally settle in on one particular boy in the teeming, bustling crowd inside.
That boy is Hugo Cabret, whom we proceed to meet in the text that follows. Hugo is a lonely boy, an orphan who has been charged with maintaining the many clocks in the train station. Hugo secretly lives in the station, too, stealing what he needs to get by. This includes not only food, but also small mechanical toys from the grouchy old gentleman who runs a toy shop in the station. Hugo needs the parts to help him repair the clocks --- and to try to fix his greatest secret and most prized possession.
It's an automaton, an incredibly intricate mechanical man. Hugo's father found the machine and spent years trying to fix it. After his father's death, Hugo is determined to fix the automaton. After all, the automaton's mechanism should allow it to write --- maybe even to pass on a message from Hugo's dead father. If only he could find a way to make it work!
Soon enough, though, Hugo's thefts get him in big trouble with the toy shop owner. Hugo's new connection to the man and his busybody goddaughter seems to threaten the future of the automaton as well as Hugo's own well-guarded secrets. Or could it be that these new acquaintances are just what Hugo needs after all?
Inspired by real historical characters and films, Selznick's novel is a real breakthrough in storytelling technique. By using illustrations --- including not only his intricate drawings but also film stills and other archival photos --- to further the plot, establish setting and even develop his characters, Selznick's spare prose seems to gain gravity and importance as well. Readers will pore over not only the illustrations, but also the words, which are rarely wasted and often contain real wisdom.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl