In The Marvels, Selznick crafts another remarkable
artistic and bookmaking achievement that weaves together two
seemingly unrelated stories - one in words, the other in pictures
- with spellbinding synergy.
"The illustrations take you by the hand, and they don't let
go" - The Guardian
The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone
survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family
of actors over five generations.
The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run
away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London,
where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries.
Filled with mystery, vibrant characters, surprise twists, and
heart-rending beauty, and featuring Selznick's most arresting art
to date, The Marvels is a moving tribute to the power of
story.
A stunning gift to be treasured for a lifetime.
Perfect for fans of theatre, history and beautiful pencil artwork
Brian's first book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, was
the winner of the esteemed Caldecott Medal, the
first novel to do so, as the Caldecott Medal is for picture books
& made into a feature length film, HUGO, directed by Martin Scorsese
and starring Jude Law
I really enjoyed this book. It's two stories written in picture and prose, which, in the end, come together to form one. Two words to describe it would be magical and beautiful. It's not a difficult read, but there's a lot going on here nonetheless.
The first part of the book, which is completely written in pictures, describes the story of London theatre family, the Marvels, from 1766 to the turn of the 20th century. It ends abruptly and the second part, which is totally words, begins in 1990 with the story of troubled young boy who has run away from boarding school and ended up at the door of an uncle in London whom he has never met before. As his story unfolds, so does the part that the first story plays in the book as a whole.
In the end it all comes together well, but, I have to admit, not in the way I expected it to. At one point I thought it was going to be predictable, but it was far from it.
If you enjoyed Selznick's other two books written in similar form to The Marvels, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck, then I'd recommend this one as well. It's well worth checking out, not just for the well-written story, but also for the wonderful artwork.
