#224
Title: The Arrival
Author: Shaun Tan
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic
Year: 2006
128 pages
Despite the Arthur A. Levine imprint, this gorgeous and startling book is not a children's or young adult publication, though it would be appropriate for readers of any age. Tan depicts the immigrant's experience poignantly, viscerally, and with great complexity, all without any text. (Text does appear, but like the unnamed immigrant protagonist, we cannot read it.) Tan has done a wonderful job of evoking the wonder and the fear inherent in new surroundings. Each of the characters the protagonist interacts with has his or her own back story to explain the circumstances that compelled their travel (or flight) from their homelands. Tan's drawings depict emotion and action very clearly and it is easy to follow the narrative. Subsequent readings reveal both ominous and hilarious details.
The creatures that accompany people in the new world reminded me a little of Philip Pullman's daemons, as visualized by Edward Gorey. My partner sees it more as Michael Sowa.
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