Libby's Reviews > The Invention of Hugo Cabret

As I enter a cinematic state induced by Brian Selznick in his introduction, I find Hugo Cabret in a busy train station in Paris in 1931 and he’s the most mysterious boy I could ever hope to meet. As he moves among bustling crowds, black and white line drawings show me his furtive movements. He looks over his shoulder. Is he being followed? Does anyone see him? I see only his foot as he enters a metal grate in the wall, then only his eye behind the number 5 in a clock, overlooking a toy store. Selznick draws a picture of a man in the toy story, then another picture closer, then still another zoom in on the man’s eye. He employs this technique many times with many of his drawings, moving closer, demanding focus and attention, saying what have you missed? Look closer!

Hugo maintains the clocks from behind the walls and checks them against his Uncle’s railroad watch. Hugo is an orphan. We don’t know what happened to his Uncle Claude….yet, but we soon discover that he learned clock keeping and clock making from his Father and Uncle Claude. There are twenty-seven clocks in the station and Hugo takes care of them all, even the ones he can only reach by ladder. I love this element of taking care of things, of meticulous detail, an important theme for adults as well as children. Soon, he will meet Isabelle, a young girl his age with a Louise Brooks bob, and in her, he will find the best of friends.

Selznick is an extraordinary artist; his illustrations, which according to the book jacket, number “284 original drawings,” are so captivating that they create an immediate engagement. Hands, eyes, facial expressions, even inanimate objects like clocks, streetlights, shoes are full of spirit and movement. With creative hatching and crosshatching, the drawings breathe in form, texture, light and a three-dimensional effect, springing to life. Somehow, he imparts humanity and soulfulness in facial expressions. In the introduction, Selznick tells us that Hugo Cabret will “discover a mysterious drawing that will change his life forever.” In that sentence as well as Selznick’s drawings, I find not only mystery, but awe, wonder, and the inconceivable gift of magic.

This story leads also to the early history of cinema and the innovations of Georges Méliès. Méliès’s began as a stage magician, so when he became interested in film, he was all about the illusions. Experimenting with special effects like multiple exposures, the illusion of characters growing and shrinking, and many other shapeshifting tricks, he makes many films including ‘A Trip to the Moon’ in 1902, which plays a role in this story. His very real history and association with automata are brought to light in ‘The Inventions of Hugo Cabret.’ Even though the story of how Georges Méliès meets Hugo is fiction, Selznick's well-researched details ring with authenticity. Geared to the middle school reader, this story would be a delight to anyone interested in art or historical fiction, especially the early history of the cinema. I find it to also be inspiring because even though Hugo’s journey is one of being alone, hungry, scared, and frightened, the transformative power of one drawing and friendships changed everything. Highly recommended!