The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Serendipity is Brian Selznick’s “The invention of Hugo Cabret”. The story is rather simple with a touch of Dickens. Orphan, thief, timekeeper Hugo lives in the walls of the busy Paris train station. He has pain, yearnings, dreams and secrets. His survival depends on anonymity, secrets and the clockworks. Everything is threatened when he is caught by a bitter old man while attempting to steal from him. Then comes an eccentric girl. Everyone gets interlocked- like the gears of the clock he keeps- with his own life. All their stories intertwine. All their secrets are threatned. There’s a treasured book, a stolen key and an automaton man – a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father. In them lies the secret and the fulfillment of their dreams. The book is a tender, intricately constructed story with a rather predictable end.

What is fascinating is not the story. It is how the story is told. Selznick has broken open the novel form to create an exciting read blending the picture book technique with that of the contemporary novel form. The novel consists of over two hundred pages of pencil sketches- very Van Gough like, captivating, enticing- light diffuses, darkness dispels both literally and metaphorically! What makes the read more exciting is that the mystery in the novel revolves largely around movie making- the technique Selznick uses in the pictures compliments the theme of the movies. The sketches are initially of large land scapes, as one turns the pages, the images become clearer in detail- there is a zooming in and words have a small part in telling the story. It’s a completely new reading experience while reminding one of childhood story books. It is a stunning cinematic tour de force of intertwined lives, dreams and secrets by a boldly innovative story teller and artist!