The story I am about to share with you takes place in 1931, under the roofs of Paris. Here you will meet a boy named Hugo Cabret, who once, long ago, discovered a mysterious drawing that changed his life forever.
But before you turn the page, I want you to picture yourself sitting in the darkness, like the beginning of a movie. On screen, the sun will soon rise, and you will find yourself zooming toward a train station in the middle of the city. You will rush through the doors into a crowded lobby. You will eventually spot a boy amid the crowd, and he will start to move through the train station. Follow him, because this is is Hugo Cabret. His head is full of secrets, and he’s waiting for his story to begin.
The invention of Hugo Cabret is a beautiful book, a distinctive book. It stands out initially as the pages all have black borders and the title pages are black with white text. The book is also heavily illustrated. In fact, saying it is illustrated is probably an understatement. The pictures are an integral part of the story, as often the text will stop and the story carries on for several pages of pictures. In fact, the first 20 or so pages after the introduction quoted above are illustrations. It feels like part regular novel, part picture book, and part graphic novel.
Hugo Cabret is an orphan who lives a secret life maintaining the clocks in a busy Paris train station. He has his life all worked out until he encounters the grumpy owner of a toy stall at the station and a young girl who takes an interest in him. Hugo has a few treasured possessions including a notebook and a mechanical clockwork man.
I won’t tell you too much more about how the story develops except to stay that it enters into the world of old silent movies. The beauty of this is that the book, with its black-edged pages and illustrations actually feels kind of like a silent movie. It really is quite brilliant.
The story itself is good, but the book as a whole is amazing. At over 500 pages, it is a long book, but half of these pages are drawings and there is plenty of white space on the text pages too. So it’s actually a quick read given it’s size.
Although The invention of Hugo Cabret is a kid’s book, I would really encourage anyone and everyone to have a look at it. It’s a work of art and next time you’re in a library or bookstore, you should at least pick it up and flick through it, then see if you can resist the urge to read it.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this book and the concept of it. Such an interesting idea and a fascinating story. It really pushes the boundaries of what we think books should be. There is an excellent website which you’ve probably found at http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_hugo_intro.htm . It gives lots of background to how the story came about too. There’s also a lot of Youtube videos related to this book which provide wonderful insights into the book. I have a video trailer attached to my blog. Sadly not mine…found it on Youtube.
Keep up the great work on your blog. Cheers, Karen
I love Hugo, too. Brian really did something new under the sun. I am working on something I wouldn’t have attempted had it not been for this book. I am sure there are authors everywhere who could say the same thing.
When Brian accepted his Newbery, his speech included a long , magnificent, visual segment, fully scored, the images and music celebrating both the book and the long history of the Newbery. I am glad to be on the earth while Brian is.
k
Kazk – thanks for pointing out the website, I had seen it and have no idea why I didn’t link to it.
Kathleen – thanks for stopping by and I am seriously hanging out to read Sacred scars when it’s done. Skin hunger was brilliant.
I would like to read the invention of Hugo Cabret
@betal – and I think you should read it. Actually, it would be a great book to curl up with after a hearty Christmas lunch