The Marvels ~ Brian Selznick

The Marvels by Brian Selznick follows a story that begins at sea in 1766 with a boy named Billy Marvel. After being shipwrecked, he finds work in a London theatre where his family flourishes for generations to come until the year 1900 when Leontes Marvel gets banished from the stage. Then nearly a century later, runaway Joseph Jervis takes refuge with his uncle in London. Uncle Albert’s house is full of weird and wonderful masterpieces that hold the answers to Joseph’s family and their past.

The first half of the book is told through black and white illustrations, which are beautiful, before blending into the prose of the second half. I loved how easily I was able to gauge the story being told just through the drawings. However, these pictures then gained so much more meaning when reading the prose that I was drawn back to them on multiple occasions. The story itself is so wholesome to read and is an immersive experience from start to finish. The way Selznick manages to weave the two stories together is breathtaking. Once I read the afterword where it is revealed that the book is loosely based on the lives of two very real men I was even more in awe of the story being told. 

I gave The Marvels a 4 ⭐️ rating and have already ordered Selznick’s new novel Kaleidoscope which I am very eager to read. I would also love to visit The Dennis Severs’ House the next time I am in London, which the book is based upon.

M🌸