For children(and the young at heart) there’s no dearth of sources of entertainment however, every once in a while, there comes a book that not only captures your attention, but also teaches you something along the way. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is one of those books. Brian Selznick is a young illustrator of reckoning and has some authorship credits as well, but with Hugo Cabret he has proven his story telling prowess. The book follows a curious, unprecedented pattern, so I am at loss whether to call it a Graphic Novel, or an illustrated Novel, or something else. I have decided to let that rest for consideration in the future and dwell more on the narrative style that mixes graphic elements and text seamlessly.
This is a simple story of our hero, Hugo Cabret, a homeless, orphan boy who lives as if he does not exist. He makes the clock tower at the Paris Central Station his home and winds the clocks, which is actually his uncle’s job, steals food, and generally creeps around the station stealing bits of toys from the toy store manned by a grumpy old man. Why the toy parts? Well, as we would learn in the course of the book, the orphan is also an inventor! The mysteriousness and shadiness of the entire business is captured effectively in the narrative that oscillates between illustrations and text, as mentioned earlier. Unlike traditional, illustrated books where the illustrations actually accompany the text in the page along-side(think the illustrated Charles Dickens or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), here the graphics contribute to the propagation of the story.
Selznick uses his pencil deftly, providing textures and emotions in the 2-D world of printed books. There are some obvious homages too. One of them, though not officially acknowledged by Selznick, appears to be the style of Van Gogh’s famous self portrait. There’s a neat acknowledgement penned by Selznick at the end of the story. He claims to have based it on facts from the renowned French magician and filmmaker of the earliest 20th century - Georges Méliès. The book has photographs of many of the original props and sets used in his movies. To Selznick’s credit, he also captures elements of the busy Paris Central life and science and magic and mystery very well. Also, the story frolics between the past and the present without getting wearisome.
The style and story keeps you captivated till you reach the last few pages. It tugs at a few heartstrings, but also gives you immense hope, and ultimately that’s what children’s fiction is all about – dreaming and dreaming big. The cons are the predictability of the story and how it ends, but instead of being a letdown it is quite a relief as our tormented hero finally meets success and luxury. I strongly recommend our young readers to grab the book and also try their hands at the artwork.
Official Website: https://theinventionofhugocabret.com/index.htm
Brian Selznick Profile: https://theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_brian_bio.htm
Publication: Barnes and Nobles
Purchased from: Hyper Books, Star Bazaar, Bangalore
Price: INR 695/- Hardcover
Note: Review first published in Saturday Post, Chennai.