Ransom
Riggs makes what could be a normal coming-of-age story a little peculiar. He utilizes a cinematic style that focuses on
the image projected. Possibly due, in
part, to the fact that he started out on this project with his collection of
antique photographs. Riggs started with
a simple image, a single moment that had been captured and built story around
it connected the images together with narrative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done. The affect is this amazing vintage cinematic
parallel world that Jacob escapes to, where he’s the hero. It’s a book you’ll want to read over and
over. I couldn’t put it down even when I
thought it was going to be a psychologic awakening type of fantasy, because
really who wants to live in this world when you can escape into another?
