Skip to main content

"Wonderstruck" by Brian Selznick


Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick, is beautiful to look at. But it’s so disappointing as a novel. I wanted so much more from this book.

Several years ago, Selznick wrote and illustrated The Invention of Hugo Cabret (which has since been made into a movie called Hugo). Selznick won the Caldecott Award for that book, and many of my colleagues have told me that they thought he should have won the Newbery Award for it. (The Caldecott is given to an artist for the “most distinguished American picture book for children,” while the Newbery is awarded to author for the “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”) So, I had really high hopes for Wonderstruck, his latest and much-lauded book. (Full disclosure: I never finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I read half of it and stopped. I don’t recall why, but I’ve been told by many that I should read it in its entirety.)

Unfortunately, I found Wonderstruck clichéd and expected and rather empty. That’s not to say that the book isn’t in some ways quite ingenious. Half the story is told in words – the story of Ben, circa 1977; the other half, that of Rose in the 1920s, is told solely in illustrations until the two stories join. And I think that is a really cool idea. Yet the stories don’t have much substance. Both are about children running away from home in search of something. And they find it. And that’s about that. You can guess early on how the stories will intertwine.

There’s some attempt at literature. For instance, lightning is used throughout the book. But you can’t even call lightning a motif. It’s just used over and over again, without signify anything.

On a good note, the book is more than 600 pages long, but more than 460 of those pages are illustrations, so if you want to read it, it’ll take you no time at all.

Tomorrow my local library association is having our Mock Newbery meeting and discussing eight books: Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley; The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kathy Barnhill; Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai; Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan; Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney; Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt; Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick; and Island’s End by Padma Venkatraman. My vote still goes to Okay for Now. But I’ll probably be outnumbered.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Story of Arthur Truluv" by Elizabeth Berg

I have a confession to make: You know that book Wonder by R.J. Palacio about the boy with facial deformities who attends public school for the first time and it's difficult for everyone involved, but in the end everyone's heart grows at least four sizes and we all feel good? I didn't love it. It's OK. And the movie was probably OK too. But as far as plot, character development, the style of the writing... I thought it was just OK. That's how I feel about The Story of Arthur Truluv , which is really all the things the various blurbs about the book says it is -- heartwarming, moving and sweet. You may even cry a little. But, unfortunately, it's like a much-watered-down version of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Which is a far better book.   Arthur is too good. And Maddy's story is somewhat unbelievable (Why is she bullied? How does she get into the situation she gets into?) and too cliche (goth teen going to art school?). Lucille...
Post a Comment
Read more

Harry vs. Septimus

Sometimes, I like the Septimus Heap series more than the Harry Potter series. There I said it. It’s a secret I’ve kept from all but my kids for a long time. Don’t get me wrong: I’m wild about Harry. I’ve knitted Harry Potter bookmarks (in Gryffindor colors, naturally). I’ve thrown at least two Harry Potter-themed birthday parties, complete with a sorting hat I made. I’ve stood at line overnight at Barnes and Noble waiting for the next book to come out three times. I read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  in one day. But, often, I like Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap books ( Magyk , Flyte , Physik , Queste , Syren , and the just published Darke ) more. And I’m not entirely sure why. My current theory is that the Septimus Heap books are better written and, while also highly derivative, much more charming. The characters are human (muggles, even) and fraught with faults. Also, the Harry Potter books are, rightly so, about Harry. Everything is from Harry’s perspective. Sadly, we don...
1 comment
Read more

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

At the end of The Return of the King , I sat in the movie theater and sobbed. Loud, embarrassing sobs. I loved the movies that much. See, each summer when I was a teen I'd re-read each of the books in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and Little Women,  hoping each time Jo would change her mind and say yes to Laurie), so the books meant a lot to me and I was blown away by how well the movies turned out.  Walking out of the theater, I vowed never to see another movie again (until the next Harry Potter movie came out). Right now I feel I can never read another book. Not after reading The Book Thief . I got to the last few pages and just sobbed. The book, as many of you probably know, is about a young girl (the titular book thief) and her family in a small German town during World War II. I have read many World War II and holocaust novels. This book, narrated by Death, is the most human. Ostensibly, it's about words: how reading and writing can change us, and how words can be...
Post a Comment
Read more