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The Arrival Review
"A magical river of strangers and their stories!" -- Craig Thompson, author of Blankets "Magnificent." -- David Small, Caldecott Medalist In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life - he's leaving home to build a better future for his family. Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy. User Submitted The Arrival ReviewsNovember 23, 2008 Breathtaking Absolutely breathtaking in its beauty and originality. Obviously the work of a true genius. I can't imagine what Shaun Tan could produce that would top this...although I imagine he DOES! I eagerly await your next work. And thanks for sharing. October 16, 2008 Out of this world... literary. "The Arrival" is a master piece. A gem among graphic novels. No words were needed to create it. No words exist to describe it. It must be felt in order to embrace it. October 13, 2008 Powerful! This book is amazing! It pulled at emotions from younger immigrant children, as well as mixed adolescents, teens, and adults we shared the book with. Though it is untraditional and doesn't use written language, the pictures tell the story better than words ever could! September 24, 2008 Wordless Delightful Fantastical Tale How does one best capture the experience of stepping into a new land? Of leaving everything behind? Of stepping into a new life? Of hopes? Fears? Dreams? Encounters? Especially when one has had to leave their family behind? The Arrival does just that. This is brilliantly crafted to tell a story which works on many levels (my children enjoyed this as much as I did - though we took very different things from the novel). September 8, 2008 My favourite book I first found this book in a comic/anime/video game art gallery. It was so amazing that I had to buy it. I don't regret it at all. The story is so powerful, and the style in which it is told is so innovative!!! What's so cool is that anyone of any language can get through the entire book and understand it just as much as the last person. And just as the book itself says, it can be a more mature book for younger people, or it can be a more imaginative book for older ones; either way, it fits all ages. September 5, 2008 This book evokes the immigrant experience The Arrival In this wordless graphic novel, through magnificent illustrations, Tan captures the disorientation immigrants may feel toward their new surroundings. It depicts the journey of one man who seems both accepted and rejected by his new country. The only writing is in an invented alphabet, which motivates the viewer to feel confused just like the immigrants must feel when they encounter a strange new language and way of life. A feeling of tolerance and acceptance is presented throughout the story and transcends race and ethnicity. The youngest readers and the most sophisticated will find this book interesting. This book is an excellent conversation starter in any mainstream or ESL classroom. September 3, 2008 Incredibly thought provoking and yet serene pictorial work of art What else can I say which isn't mentioned by others and that I've already summed it in the title of this review. The quality of the book is fabulous...hardcover with good texture and layout. The art (computer art) is provoking and Shaun had mastered the saying "a picture tells a thousand words" It brings the reader (viewer?) into the shoes of the immigrant visiting a "world" that is totally strange to him (as possibly depicted by the weird things he encountered) as what a stranger will feel as the reader/viewer will feel the same way too. What more can I say, its a classic and a book worth collecting and keeping. August 21, 2008 FOR THE GUESTS as much as FOR THE HOSTS If you are a "Guest": ANYONE WHO HAD TRAVELED away from their family, culture and land, will find comfort in this book. It provides with rich metaphors and imagery of departure, culture shock, misunderstandings, confusion, adaptation--you name it!--all of those experiences an immigrant or a long-distance traveler is going through. If you are a "Host": Likewise, ANYONE WHO'D EVER MET A FOREIGNER, and had difficulty communicating, or had ever occupied oneself with a thought of what it means "to arrive somewhere" and what an experience of arrival to a land of no known customs and language may be like--will also benefit greatly from this presentation. Book presentation: The medium of the story delivery through a series of pictures (wonderful illustrations in their own right!!!) allows for multiple interpretations of the content and is adaptable to any travel/immigration situation. The story itself has depth in its many layers, depending on whose side of it you are following: the Daughter's, the Wife's, or the Man's, or perhaps--some other character in the book :-)). Detailed illustrations make me return to these pages again and again, finding some new twist, or making new interpretations. Both, children (as young as 4) and adults I have shared this book with, loved at least something about it. Younger children, unless familiar with the experience, will probably not understand all the complexity of it, however, the very idea of presenting these experiences through pictures allows them to stay with the story and enjoy it just the same. As far as adults, I cannot think of anyone whom this book may leave untouched or indifferent. This is by far one of the most MOVING, THOUGHT PROVOKING, INSPIRING, and beautifully done books! I never stop hunting for good volumes out there, and this one is A TREASURE for book lovers and collectors alike. August 18, 2008 Surreal, but Familiar Shaun Tan's "The Arrival" is an enormously engaging book that captures solely through illustration, the pathos, despair, joy, longing and tenderness of leaving one's country and family to come to a new land. In this new land of fantasy architecture, peculiar pets and wonderfully bizarre foods, the protagonist discovers many friends who give him comfort and share their knowledge with him. In an underlying theme, the reader experiences the tension of political upheaval and conflict through Tan's evocative presentation of chaos, war and armies on the march. Especially to be treasured and pondered over are the wonderfully drawn, ethnically diverse faces that the artist portrays on the book's endpapers. Even traversing the surreal landscape and environment Tan creates, it is easy to feel that is as familiar as a dream., August 9, 2008 Beautiful, complex story I reached the last page of this wordless book wanting only to go back to the first page again. It leaves a warm whirl of different impressions, none in conflict with each other but never wholly fitting together, either. The drawing itself leaves many of those impressions. These delicate monochrome images, possibly pencil drawings, range from sepia to cool grays. Their beautiful, literal style works equally well at showing the joy of a little girl or the confusion of immigration to an alien culture. Despite realism approaching photographic, Tan's fantasy world fills with strange beasts, impossible architecture, and foods almost too baffling to eat. Tan's invented written language clearly carries meaning, but meaning that the reader can not penetrate. Then, in another reversal back from fantasy to reality, it conveys the newcomer's new life in a new world with insight and sympathy. Tan's afterword says that this story derives from four years of research on the immigrant experience, research that paid off in every page and panel. As you can see, the imagery and story tie inextricably into each other. That visual storytelling reaches its peak in nightmare metaphors of war - I won't even try to describe the emotional truth of those dark, impossible pictures. This ends on a high note, though, with the family reunited in their new land. I won't spoil it, but it brings a quote charmingly to life: "When you've reached the top, it's your responsibility to send the elevator back down." -- wiredweird For more The Arrival reviews click here.
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