Book Review: ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ by Brian Selznik

The Invention of Hugo Cabret first caught my attention when I heard Martin Scorsese was directing the film adaptation of it. I have a soft spot for kids’ books. The good ones offer a new, fresh and imaginative perspective of life that sometimes is lacking in adult fiction. When I first came upon The Invention of Hugo Cabret at the bookstore, I was very intrigued by it. The cover was brilliantly designed and the book was part graphic novel. As someone who occasionally draws and uses the same medium as author/illustrator Brian Selznik used, I was in love with the drawings. That ultimately convinced to purchase the book.

The story follows an orphan boy, named Hugo Cabret, who lives and tunes the clocks in a Paris train station in the 1930s. He has an uncanny talent for fixing machinery. His biggest project is to fix an automaton his father had saved from a burned down museum. Hugo is convinced that if he fixed the automaton, it will deliver a message from his dead father. On a mission to fix the automaton, he runs into a life-changing adventure.

While the drawings are hardly lackluster at all, I wish I could say the same about the plot. The plot is pretty simple, not too many complexities. The characters seemed a little flat. The plot seemed to stay at one pace, not picking up at the appropriate moments. When I finished the book, I was satisfied, but still had expected more.

A few days after finishing it, my mom asked if I had a book to let her borrow. I couldn’t think of anything to recommend to her. Desperate for something to read, she asked me what was the last book I read and asked to just borrow that one. I obliged. My mom loved the book and found the story much more interesting than I had. She explained the things she loved about it, singling out little things that sort of escaped me while I was reading it. After discussing the book with her, I ended up realizing that I liked it more than I thought. Talking about it, the characters didn’t seem as flat, and the plot seemed more interesting.

I liked The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It’s a beautiful book. I recommend it to those looking to read something different.  Don’t expect the kind of adventure we see in books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson though. Mostly, it’s a sight for the eyes, and I’m very interested to see how Scorsese translates this story to screen.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is available in bookstores. You can purchase the book from our TYF Store.

Check out the trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo!

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