He’s not the only one lost in this section of the book this part is full of characters (both human and canine) who have lost their way. This story, told primarily in words, focuses on a boy named Joseph Jervis and opens with an extremely prophetic line: “Joseph was lost.” Lost he was indeed, in both the metaphorical and literal sense. It’s perhaps not long enough to be a saga - the major part of this story only lasts months as opposed to decades - but the drama and mystery (and all sorts of other Shakespearean elements) are there all the same. The second part of the book begins in 1990 and follows another family drama. Still, Selznick gifts readers with one more.

This Marvel saga ends with as much drama and intrigue as it begins, and in truth, this would be enough of a story for one book. The Marvel saga contains happiness, love, and the quintessential Shakespearean mistaken identity, but it also includes angst, anger, and betrayal. They are a family of “flame-haired geniuses” often dubbed theater royalty by the press, but what happens when one child fails to live up to the family tradition? Their story seems to mirror the Shakespeare plays they present. It’s a saga full of love and joy, disappointment and heartbreak.īilly Marvel and then his children and then their children become a legendary theater family. Here begins a family saga, told through illustrations. Only two survive, a young man and his dog, Billy Marvel and Tar, respectively. The sailors are just as engaged in the show as are the readers no one notices the storm approaching until it’s too late, and the ship sinks. Still, only a page or two later everything slides into place, when Selznick reveals that none of this is real and is instead a play. For people used to books made of words, it’s hard to resist the temptation to turn the pages too quickly. A few pages later, readers can see what she sees: a dragon, inching closer and closer. One of the first illustrations shows a girl, clearly terrified, tied to the ship. The first story begins on a ship in 1766, and readers quickly learn that little in this book will be what it appears. Like so many things in life though, something akin to magic happens when they are combined.

Each story is capable of standing on its own, and each is a good story. Inside are two stories the first told primarily in illustrations and the second told primarily in words.

It almost feels more like a gift than a book, and like a beautifully wrapped gift, there’s the wonderful anticipation of what awaits inside. It’s heavy and has a cover imprinted with dragons, stars, and birds. This feeling isn’t just because he’s written several New York Times Bestsellers, one of which was a National Book Award Finalist.Įven on the outside, The Marvels is a beautiful book. Even before opening the cover of Brian Selznick’s The Marvels there’s the sense that something magical is going to happen.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick