The Marvels by Brian Selznick review – a beautifully illustrated family saga

Selznick’s drawings vividly capture the magical adventures of a theatrical family in London and at sea

• Brian Selznick’s new book The Marvels – in pictures

Illustration today embraces a vast array of new materials, innovative techniques and bewildering digital wizardry. But drawing is where it starts, and we’re all familiar with the humble pencil. That familiarity makes this book such an accessible read – or, more specifically, an accessible experience. For the first 400 of these 650 gold-edged pages, there is nothing to read – no text, just drawings in HB pencil on textured water colour paper that have been enlarged. The illustrations take you by the hand, and they don’t let go.

The opening pages of this burnished doorstep of a book show a ship in full sail on a pencilled sea against a scribbly shifting sky. The year is 1776 and young Billy Marvel, at sea on a whaling ship, is among a group of actors entertaining the crew with a thrilling melodrama, when a vicious storm strikes.

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