Anybody who has talked to me for more than ten minutes has figured out that I am a huge movie buff, so it shouldn't surprise many that I was drawn to Brian Selznick's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" the book that director Martin Scorsese has chosen to adapt into his latest film (a film that will star Johnny Depp, Sir Ben Kingsley, Chloe Moretz, and Jude Law). I hadn't heard much about the book itself before I picked it up, but as a longtime Scorsese fan, I figured that if he appreciated the book, then the least I could do would be to pick it up and check it out myself.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret tells the story of a mysterious orphan boy in France who lives in the walls of a train station and keeps all of the clocks in the station working in perfect order. Hugo also steals whatever he needs to survive as well as the occasional gadget from a wizened old toy vendor in the station in order to help fix his automaton, a rusted old machine found by his father before his death that Hugo believes will deliver him some important message concerning the mysterious death of his father.
While the plot of "Hugo Cabret" is certainly interesting, it takes a strange turn from mechanical mystery to a story concerning the magical and wondrous nature of early film. The mystery of the automaton quickly involves Hugo with a couple interesting characters who all assist him in figuring out how this automaton is connected to the early film classics Hugo's father loved so dearly. I won't say that the connection to film was a poor choice, but I will admit that I was a little disappointed, because Selznick starts the mystery off so well, and choosing to connect the automaton to something as mundane as film seemed like a cop-out (if what I'm saying in this paragraph doesn't make sense...which I'm getting the feeling it doesn't, then just pick up the book---for 544 pages, it's an INSANELY short read-- and you'll understand what I mean).
The one aspect I can't comment on is the artwork (which from what I hear from others is one of the strong points). I listened to this book on audio and didn't have the privilege of admiring all of the art and design. I will most likely pick up a physical copy of this soon just to check it out, but I think the story still works without the 100+ pictures.
All-in-all, not the best, but certainly not the worst. If you're at all curious in what Scorsese is up to next, I'd consider reading this to impress all your snooty film-loving friends.
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