A Review of The Arrival

By Shaun Tan

* Note: This blog fulfills a course requirement at TWU.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. 2007. ISBN: 0439895294

PLOT SUMMARY

This critically acclaimed book is a wordless story of a man who leaves his wife and daughter behind in an impoverished country to travel across the ocean to an unnamed country to seek a better life for himself and his family. The man enters a strange new world with odd-looking creatures, boats that sail in the sky, floating objects, and strange languages. This strange setting serves as a metaphor for those immigrants that arrive in a country where everything is different, and somewhat stranger than their country of origin. Tan’s illustrations are fantasy mixed with reality and convey a message of being someone who is overwhelmed by new, unfamiliar surroundings. He arrives with nothing but a suitcase and a small amount of money. He struggles to adjust, but several strangers help him along the way and he finally finds a job at a dehumanizing factory working in an assembly line separating things into piles. He discovers that almost all of the people he worked with were immigrants as well. Even though he starts out as the new guy in a new world, he gets used to his surroundings and directs other “new people” where to go. The man sent his daughter letters as a bird-shaped origami and finally, his wife and daughter sent him a letter saying they were coming to be with him. By the end, the family had settled into their new life and the last page, the picture is of the man’s daughter is giving directions to a new person. Even though there are no words, the pictures say a lot!

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Tan uses sepia-toned illustrations that often look like old photographs. His illustrations place human beings in surreal, often bizarre environments, which enhance the feeling of the protagonist being overwhelmed. However, Tan presents a diverse ethnic population that exhibit a sense of friendliness and caring for each other regardless of race or background  on each page. Creative use of panel size on every page helps tell a more complete story filled with emotion and compassion. Tan uses visual metaphors to show how it feels to miss family, dehumanizing working conditions, and suppression, while also conveying the kindness that people can show one another even through trying times. This book is a beautiful work of art!

REVIEW EXCERPTS

New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007

New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2007
World Fantasy Award 2007, Best Artist
Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007
School Library Journal Best Book of 2007
Booklist Editors' Choice for 2007

School Library Journal – “Young readers will be fascinated by the strange new world the artist creates, complete with floating elevators and unusual creatures, but may not realize the depth of meaning or understand what the man's journey symbolizes. More sophisticated readers, however, will grasp the sense of strangeness and find themselves participating in the man's experiences. They will linger over the details in the beautiful sepia pictures and will likely pick up the book to pore over it again and again.”

Booklist – “Strong visual metaphors convey personal longing, political suppression, and totalitarian control; imaginative use of panel size and shape powerfully depicts sensations and ideas as diverse as interminable waiting, awe-inspiring majesty, and forlorn memories; delicate alterations in light and color saturate the pages with a sense of time and place. Soft brushstrokes and grand Art Deco-style architecture evoke a time long ago, but the story's immediacy and fantasy elements will appeal even to readers younger than the target audience, though they may miss many of the complexities.”

CONNECTIONS

Enjoy other Shaun Tan Books, including:

·         Tan, Shaun. Sketches from a Nameless Land: The Art of the Arrival. (2012). ISBN: 0734411642.

·         Tan, Shaun. The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook. (2013). ISBN: 0545465133.

·         Tan, Shaun. Tales from Outer Suburbia. (2009). ISBN: 0545055873.

·         Tan, Shaun. Rules of Summer. (2014). ISBN: 0545639123.

And others …