Arrival: Amazon.ca: Books

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

children book(1)

shaun tan(1)

short stories(1)

surrealism(1)

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the Emotional Impact., Dec 19 2006

By

Jonathan Peart "I was dead, but then I unders... (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Arrival (Hardcover)

Who wants a bland book? We all love being emotionally moved by books.

'The Arrival' pictures the experience of moving to a foreign land without any text. This had a big emotional impact on me. As the reader you see and feel the strangeness and lostness of the immigrant. But I think it opens up the experience of 'trying to understand & belong' in other situations. The drawings are open to interpretation.

Without text to give away the story, you have to search out the story for yourself, in beautiful pencil drawings, which I found an engaging and delightful experience.

This is a book I own, reread, and give others.

I came to this book having loved two of Shaun Tan's previous books: 'The Lost Thing'-a fun story, and 'The Red Tree' - melancholy pictures you can empathise with.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Storytelling at its best, Oct 5 2009

By

Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME)

This review is from: The Arrival (Hardcover)

Length:: 0:24 Mins

Even wonder what it's like to be an immigrant moving to a new place to look for work, to see and experience a whole new world? The Arrival will tell you the story of someone who made this journey.

This beautiful book is designed like a worn out photo album from the past, not sure which past if the photo on the cover is anything of a hint. The book opens to a wall of immigrant photos, just like those you'll see in Ellis Island Museum. Several drawings of immigrant processing, passport pictures, and the "arrival hall" are based on photographs taken at Ellis Island.

The story starts with a man putting a photo of his family carefully into his luggage. It's early morning. His wife and daughter are walking him to the train station. The scene cuts to show the town he's leaving from, one that's inhabited by gigantic black tentacles. At the train station, you can see the sadness in the eyes of her daughter, who only manages to break into a sad smile when her dad pulls a paper crane from under his hat to cheer her up. They hug and bid farewell. The train leaves. The mother and girl then walk back home under the shadows of the tentacles.

You can tell the tremendous amount of research and thought put in the panels. Shaun Tan has put little nuances and details everywhere, enabling readers to fully immerse themselves in the new world feeling the sense of wonder and foreignness as a new immigrant might. When the man is in the arrival hall of the immigration building, he undergoes the health checkups, questioning by officers on the purpose of his visit before he's approved entry.

He finds his job, made new friends and we learn their stories and more of this strange world. The last act ends happily with the man inviting his wife and daughter over. Seeing the joy on their faces as they reunite is so touching. In the last panel, the girl is pointing directions for a newcomer who's lost.

My short review just barely scratches the depth of the book. It's really much deeper.

This is storytelling at its best. Every panel advances the story. No words are used, and none are needed. Shaun Tan seems to have perfected the art of visual narrative with his surrealistic imagery and believable facial expressions. This book is a fascinating eye opener in every literal sense. It's really an enjoyable read and experience.

Most highly recommended.

(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Keep sake, Feb 15 2009

By

J. Pierce "Between the Lines" (British Columbia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Arrival (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully illustrated story which is a lovely gift for all ages. A family keepsake.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse