That was a cute little book.

Basically, a young boy lives in the walls of a train station, keeping all of the clocks running. He rebuilds a fantastic automaton and meets a toy maker with a bit more in his past than at first meets the eye.

In particular, I love the world and the visuals. The passageways behind the walls, the clockworks and toys, Hugo’s room, all of it. Especially when you combine the words with a number of fantastic illustrations as well, it’s quite a fantastic world.

I also enjoy the characterization: Hugo and Isabelle actually read like children, albeit smart ones. Méliès is a well written grumpy old man who makes me wonder just how similar he is to his namesake.

It’s not the sort of book I normally would have gone for–usually I enjoy outright scifi and fantasy, with a tendency towards longer books–but I’m glad to have read it. I think I may have to check out the 2011 film now; if the visuals are anywhere near the ones in the book, it should be quite enjoyable.