The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a stunning and original graphic novel about an immigrant’s experience told without the use of words. Each double-page spread contains anywhere from 1 to 60 images. Like the main character, the reader cannot rely on language to explain what’s going on—instead we must interpret as best we can (not that the story itself is hard to follow). My favourite parts of this book were the stories of the other immigrants the main character meets: told over a few pages, each was an imaginative and captivating visual metaphor for escape from oppression. I cannot recommend this book highly enough—it is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.To read other reviews of this book, head over to these blogs:
1330v • At Home with Books • By Book or by Crook • In the Next Room • Library Queue • MotherReader • Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists! • The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader • The Bookbag • The Genteel Arsenal
I read a library copy of this book. Many thanks to Paulette for recommending this book to me!
Sounds like a very qick read:) Have to look this one up.
ReplyDeleteSounds great, Avis. I'll check my library for it (though I think it's sadly lacking in graphic novels).
ReplyDeleteI'm always fascinated by the stories of immigrants, so I need to get hold of this. I often wonder if I'd have the grit and determination they did.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad u loved this book. I am not into graphic novels but love immigrant stories.
ReplyDeleteI really, really, really want to read a Shaun Tan book! Everyone seems to love him.
ReplyDeleteI loved this one!! It took me a few days to get through all of the pages because there is so much to look at and interpret!!
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed this one. I was assigned this book in one of my librarianship classes. Otherwise, I might not have picked it up. So glad I did.
ReplyDeleteI recently reviewed this one as well. This was the first graphic novel I had ever read. For a book with no words it took me a few hours to read it becuase I had to really look at and absorb each drawing.
ReplyDeleteI just read his book Tales from Outer Suburbia which I really loved. Such beautiful imagery. I've never "read" just a picture book so don't know if I'd like this one as much but I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to have no words at all. I bet everyone comes away with a different story.
ReplyDeleteI return to this book again and again, especially for reading before sleeping.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to have to look for this one! It looks like a fantastic graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteI finally read my first graphic novel ever this year and Shaun Tan is definitely on my list of authors to read in the future!
ReplyDeleteSounds good...maybe I read it, and however, I love graphic novels!
ReplyDeleteBook Dilettante, it's actually the type of book that you could spend hours pouring over (the images are very detailed), but you can also "read" through it relatively quickly.
ReplyDeleteDonna (I'm assuming this is you!), I actually borrowed a graphic novel through interlibrary loan recently and it came from your library!
Kathy, I think you'd really enjoy this one. I wonder that too (and I'm not sure I'd have the grit and determination they did)!
Diane, I recommend you give this one a try! (It's definitely not a traditional graphic novel.)
Aarti, I can't recommend this book enough (and I'm definitely on the lookout for his other books). His artwork is amazing.
Staci, yeah, I felt I could have spent a lot more time on each page. (I need to buy myself a copy of this book!)
Bookshelf Monstrosity, and I'm glad my friend recommended it to me!
Angie, thanks for pointing me towards your review! I've linked to it now in mine.
Iliana, Tales from Outer Suburbia (which is such a great title) is definitely on my wish list now!
Jenners, even more so that with an ordinary book!
ArtSparker, thanks for commenting -- I'm glad to have discovered your blog!
Marie and Kathleen, I hope you can get your hands on a copy of this book!
Marcos, if you enjoy graphic novels, you should definitely give this one a try!
Thanks for linking my review to yours, and for the other graphic novel suggestions. I have made note of them. Unfortunately, my library doesn't carry a lot of graphic novels so I don't know how successful I'll be.
ReplyDeleteAs you may have noticed in my review that you so kindly linked to I loved this book a lot!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite things about it is that I was able to look through it was my son and he was able to tell me the story that he saw because there were no words.