The Arrival

by Shaun Tan

book data

1,726 ratings, 4.52 average rating, 550 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		64%
4		25%
3		7%
2		1%
1		0%

edit

published

October 1st 2007 (first published 2006) by Arthur A. Levine Books

binding

Hardcover, 128 pages

setting

The United States

literary awards

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Community Relations Commission Award, 2007; The Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards: Picture Book of the Year, 2007.

isbn

0439895294 (isbn13: 9780439895293)

description

David Small, Caldecott Medalist in a heartbreaking parting gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's emb...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | compare prices…

new topic
discuss this book

topics	posts	views	last activity
100+ Book Challenge: Kat's Big Book List for 2009	47	139	5 days ago, 10:36AM
50 Books A Year: MB's Book Diary: What She Read in 2009	166	323	5 days ago, 07:29AM
Terminalcoffee: Fathers' Day...	44	39	13 days ago, 07:05AM
True North: The Best Picture Books IN THE WORLD!	57	38	28 days ago, 07:38PM
50 Books A Year: Kristen's 50 in 2009	10	65	31 days ago, 03:19PM

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Best books of 2007

161 books | 279 voters

Great Graphic Novels for Teens...of all time!

40 books | 18 voters

More lists...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2,395)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

11/28/07

Josephine rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: fiction, kidlit, picture-books

Read in November, 2007

Now, enough Robert's Snow illustrators mentioned Shaun Tan in their interviews that I finally picked up a copy of his new graphic novel The Arrival. And I have to say, hands down, it is *worth* all the buzz.

This is a story about immigration, and belonging, and finding a new home. The main character leaves his family, and takes a long journey to a strange land in the hopes of finding a better life for his family. This is a story we all know. In America, at least, there have been count...more Now, enough Robert's Snow illustrators mentioned Shaun Tan in their interviews that I finally picked up a copy of his new graphic novel The Arrival. And I have to say, hands down, it is *worth* all the buzz.

This is a story about immigration, and belonging, and finding a new home. The main character leaves his family, and takes a long journey to a strange land in the hopes of finding a better life for his family. This is a story we all know. In America, at least, there have been countless re-tellings of Ellis Island and other immigration stories in movies, books, plays, songs...the list goes on and on. Immigration is a huge part of our American history and mythology. But I've never seen the story told quite like this.

Shaun Tan grew up in Perth, Australia, and is half-Chinese. His father came to Australia from Malaysia to study architecture. Themes of immigration and belonging and home have been a part of his consciousness as long as he can remember. When he began The Arrival, he intended it to be a short picture book for children. Instead, it became a graphic novel that took five years to create, and it speaks to people of all ages, all nationalities, all walks of life.

The Arrival is completely wordless. The pictures tell the story, in a frame-by-frame style that is more reminiscent of film than of comic books. And because there are no words, we are brought in to the story in a much more personal way. The strange land that he travels to would be strange to anyone...it is a land of Shaun Tan's invention with tadpole-like creatures that emerge from pots and strange birds that unfold and fly vertically in the sky. Modes of transportation, food, even the buildings are all so odd that the reader feels just as disoriented as the traveler.

This is the genius of this book. When you are reading it, you can't help but begin to understand what it might be like to leave everything behind and start new. The excitement, the fear, the hope. It's all there. Here's an excerpt from an article Shaun Tan wrote about the book:

"One of the great powers of storytelling is that it invites us to walk in other people’s shoes for a while, but perhaps even more importantly, it invites us to contemplate our own shoes also. We might do well to think of ourselves as possible strangers in our own strange land. What conclusions we draw from this are unlikely to be easily summarised, all the more reason to think further on the connections between people and places, and what we might mean when we talk about ‘belonging’."

Here is a page from Shaun Tan's website (scroll down to see many images from the book, and scroll down even further for Shaun Tan's comments about the book).

Here is a terrific interview with Shaun Tan from Fuse #8 (most likely the first place I read about the book when it came out in February).

This review appeared on my blog, Please Come Flying.(less)

Like this review? yes (8 people liked it)

add a comment

10/11/07

Emily rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

The Arrival is a stunning wordless graphic novel. The story follows the journey of a man from his unnamed home country to a confusing new world which, despite presenting immense obstacles, offers the hope of a better life for his family. Because there are no words, the sepia-toned drawings carry the narrative, relying on the reader’s interpretations to complete the experience. I think this is what I appreciated most about the book: There are a lot of images and concepts that don’t make sense...more

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

add a comment

02/26/08

Colleen AF rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: books-that-made-me-cry, graphic-novels, read-2008

Read in February, 2008

Stunning. Just stunning. The best book of last year, and perhaps even the best graphic novel I've ever read. A touching book on the immigrant experience with artwork so lush you want to jump into it. The factory scenes in particular really got to me. Would someone please change the Caldecott rules? Please!

Cried the first time I read it. Cried the second time I read it. Made it through the third time and then closing the book noticed the beautiful end papers...doh.

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

add a comment

06/21/08

Brenton rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: graphicnovels-all, speculative-fiction

Read in June, 2008

The Arrival is the tale of a man who leaves his family and his troubled homeland to emigrate to a new world. It is very much set up as a turn of the 19th century sort of tale with an Asian man coming to America through Ellis Island, except that this story takes place in a world with a bit more mythological reality to it. Cute, anime-inspired creatures take the place of dogs, cats, and birds, smokestacked airships drift through the air as a conventional steamliner comes into the ocean port, and...more The Arrival is the tale of a man who leaves his family and his troubled homeland to emigrate to a new world. It is very much set up as a turn of the 19th century sort of tale with an Asian man coming to America through Ellis Island, except that this story takes place in a world with a bit more mythological reality to it. Cute, anime-inspired creatures take the place of dogs, cats, and birds, smokestacked airships drift through the air as a conventional steamliner comes into the ocean port, and alien trees grow into complex doily-like designs before drifting apart like giant dandelions.

The art is all sepia toned, soft water-color, reminding me strongly of Chris van Allsburg's books, though in this case Tan has added a layer of aging to his artwork via Photoshop so that it appears as though you are looking through a hundred-year old cracked and faded photo album. The lack of any text contributes to this feeling, as though you are also watching a silent movie on old, scratched film.

Tan's pacing, framing, and points of reference exhibit great intelligence; despite the story existing in an alien world and having not a word of English, there is never a moment in which you do not know exactly what is going on. The huge dragon-like tentacles that plague the man's homeland never appear to cause any harm or damage, and they may or may not be allegorical representations of the wars and dictatorships and what not that have driven many immigrants to the US in past times, but their very form in Tan's drawings is enough to tell us that the man's homeland is not a safe, joyous place to live.

Similarly, though all of Tan's depictions of the new cultural mechanics the man must learn are fanciful and strange, you always know what is going on, whether it be figuring out public transportation via balloon-lifted booths and steam-powered airships or learning how to buy groceries from walls of symbol-marked drawers.

Perhaps most impressive of all are Tan's faces, which, while being simple drawings or watercolors, exhibit an ability to nail down emotion and expression so that you can almost tell exactly what words are going through a character's head in any frame of the book.

This is the most beautiful book I have read all year. Tan has crafted a fantasy-tinged, vaguely steampunkish 1900s world that made me ache to see more drawn explorations of the lands and cultures within, and it will be a hard book for anyone to top.(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

2 comments

01/12/09

babyhippoface rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: all-ages, kids--picture-books, young-adult

An emigrant leaves his family and what seems to be an embattled land (a tentacled monster casts a shadow on buildings and walls) for a new world completely foreign to him. Told entirely in sepia-toned illustrations, this wordless book is intriguing and complex. Tan's illustrations are intricate and beautiful as they depict an everyman becoming immersed in a world neither he nor the reader has ever known. He understands nothing of the language of his new land, and the absence of text insures that...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

09/22/07

Becky rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: favoriteillustrations, graphic-novels, visualstorytelling

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: everyone!

I'd give this ten stars if I could! This wordless story of a man's journey to a strange new land is one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen/read. I think I'd rank it higher than The Invention of Hugo Cabret on my Ultimate Favorites List, and that's saying something.

What this book does so brilliantly is put every reader in the shoes of an immigrant. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be unable to read any signs, speak to anyone, or recognize plants, animals, and cl...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

02/27/08

Sheri rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: Pam, Judi

This completely wordless graphic novel is truly wonderful. Technically this is a chidren's book. But wait, read on... As in each of the books Shaun Tan has written and illustrated this "novel" transports us to a completely unique world, inhabited as are all of his worlds, with creatures and structures both strange and sureal. The story, though deceptively simple, that of an immigrant's experience in a new land, speaks to our shared humanity.

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

05/08/08

Terry rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: wordless

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Art fans, people who encounter new things

As a rule, I avoid writing things like, "Every teacher should have a copy of this in their classroom," but dang it, every teacher should. This is that book that anyone can read, even the child who reads no written language or speaks no English. It is everything all the other reviewers have said, so I won't repeat the accolades. I do hope that Mr. Tan finds a wide, welcoming audience.

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

10/26/08

Lara's rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: graphic-novels

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: Juvenille, Young Adult and up

Synopsis: 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...more Synopsis: 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.
Review: I never got tired of looking at this graphic novel and once I'd read it, I took it out to my husband and said, "you must take a look at this beautiful representation of literature". He did and also wholeheartedly agreed that it was not merely enough to have seen this book. It must become a part of our collection. It must be purchased, treasured and shared with friends. Friends across the ocean in Japan, friends across the country and friends we are just begining to know. Shaun Tan is one of the many reasons I warmly admit to loving graphic novels whenever the topic of conversation arises. This story reminded me so very much of my own emotions upon leaving my homeland and living abroad for years. Wondering if I would return home. Wordless in form and yet so very, very clear in it's meaning. The sadness, fear, confusion, joy, wonder, bewilderment and hope that is portrayed in this book is what inspires me to keep smiling at strangers on the bus, to keep hoping that they too are simply--on the most basic human level---good. A masterpiece!
Critical Reviews:From 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." From Booklist, "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."
(less)

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

01/25/09

Dottie rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: 2009, graphics, ocitylibrary

Read in February, 2009

Well, I have something to say about The Arrival certainly! What I have to say is Wow! I loved the art -- I loved looking at the shadings, shapes, color variations. I loved examining the many faces and how though many ethnic groups are there, not a one of them seems to pop out as a stereotypical look which we've seen previously -- Asian? yes, there is Asian there but an amalgam of Asian. Eastern European? Africans? African Americans? Islanders? Oh yes, they are there -- again there are amalgams....more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

4 comments

06/25/08

Peter rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: graphic-novels

Read in July, 2008

I want an extra star. Can I get an extra star please? Anybody.

On an emotional level the arrival appeals universally. With out any text, this story is instantly understood, not simply on grounds of comprehension... the reader FEELS what the immigrant feels (or immigrants as the narrative's net expands). The loneliness, alienation, and determination to make one's own world a better world is so clear to the reader. The intent and rhetoric are as clear as the story yet never preac...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

02/28/08

Bonnie Gayle rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: comic-or-graphic-novel, library-books, reviewed

Read in February, 2008

This is a quick "read" but it is remarkable the amount that can be gotten out of it, and I'm sure more can be on additional perusings. I put read in quotes, because the book is actually wordless, and relies on pictures alone.

The book tells the tale of a man who leaves his wife, child, and home, and sails to another country. In this country, he does not understand the language, written or spoken, and he feels very isolated. Slowly, though, he comes to understand that everyon...more This is a quick "read" but it is remarkable the amount that can be gotten out of it, and I'm sure more can be on additional perusings. I put read in quotes, because the book is actually wordless, and relies on pictures alone.

The book tells the tale of a man who leaves his wife, child, and home, and sails to another country. In this country, he does not understand the language, written or spoken, and he feels very isolated. Slowly, though, he comes to understand that everyone around him was also an immigrant at one time or another, and they are all willing to help him and tell him their own immigration story.
The ending is also very sweet and touching.

It's a very very interesting book, in that the author could have easily told the story of an immigrant, BUT it would not really give the reader an idea of how it FEELS to be an immigrant. Tan uses several different methods in order to accomplish that feeling, and, in my mind, he does a really good job.
First of all, just the fact that it is a wordless story helps to add to the feeling. What language would the story be told in? A language that the man does not understand? Simply by relying on images, the reader is having to do what an immigrant has to do to understand what is going on when he or she doesn't understand the language.
Also, the writing in the book is all symbols, and cannot be understood. This also adds to the feeling, because you understand the man's frustration when he is trying to get around the new town, and cannot read the street signs. Finally, the author relies a bit on the element of fantasy, mostly to good use, but in one case I felt it was odd. To give the feeling that the man is in a new and different place, there are several fantasy elements to the new land. I felt that these were helpful in creating the right feeling...except for the little alien-looking creatures, like the one on the cover. Each person has one of these creatures, and they interact with each other, and also keep the person company, and I could NOT figure out what this was supposed to symbolize. Because these creatures were so pervasive, and so inexplicable, it warranted a 4 rather than 5 star review.(less)

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

4 comments

01/29/08

Liz rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

recommends it for: everyone.

This is, without a doubt, the best story I've read in at least three years.

Shaun Tan's telling of the story of immigration is profound. The wordlessness allows the reader to struggle alongside the main character as he tries to navigate the surreal beauty, strange technology and language of his new landscape. Images of the old countries evoke real horrors, even though the landscape is more nightmare than Europe(or China, or wherever).

This heavy use of visual symbols migh...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

10/30/07

Carter rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: autographed, graphic-novel, young-adult

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: fans of Hugo Cabaret

What a beautiful book. Shaun Tan tells the story through pictures of a man who sets off alone to a new world to make a home for his wife and daughter. Thankfully, Tan shows us what it is like to come to a new place and know nothing about the language, customs, and practices. Of the "words" that are found in the text are illegible symbols, mimicking the experience of an immigrant. As he becomes acquainted with the new land, various people help him get adjusted; meanwhile, also telli...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

12/31/07

Kent rated it:

i'm a long time fan of shaun tan. image vs word. ordinary vs absurd. blurring distinctions between them yet always clear about intent. talent for addressing universal human conditions in manners approachable and exciting for the old, the young, and all in-between. this is another book by tan which taps into images of mainstream culture to illustrate archetypal issues.

The Arrival deals with the challenges of moving to a foreign country. awkwardness in adapting to new cultural atti...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

03/13/09

Jean rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: graphics

Read in March, 2009

Stunningly beautiful story told through art rather than words.
An Asian man immigrates to another country (world?)and the reader follows his experience through the illustrations. There are many nationalities in the "new world" and they all make his transition easier.
They have all had the same confusion in their lives and are happy to assist.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

7 comments

04/01/09

Hannah Jo Parker rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

Read in March, 2009

I finally read this. It knocked me out. Why did I wait so long to read this? If you haven't read it, go do it right now.

I borrowed it from the library, but plan to buy it the next time I get a book store gift certificate from one of my friends or family members. Wow. Perfect in every way. I never would have guessed that I could fall in love so deeply with a wordless book.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

11/06/07

Sophia rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: 2007, favorites, graphicnovels, own

Read in November, 2007

Just lovely. Tan's subtly shaded pencil art reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg's, as does the whimsical feel of discovering the story. It's a picture book for grown-ups, though, as one slowly realizes that Tan is recreating the immigrant experience for all readers, regardless of their language or culture, through his strange, wonderful and utterly alien world. The beautiful, mysterious intricacy of his creation is so engaging I want ten more books on it, except that would destroy the frail magic o...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

02/14/08

Lilburninbean rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

Read in February, 2008

Gorgeous. I’m so impressed with the artwork in this book. Tan seems to have based this book on various immigrant stories, and the artwork speaks to the powers of fantasy, imagination, trauma and hardship, loss, discovery… There’s so much ambiguity here about race, location, “the exotic” or foreignness—I wonder what this book would be like if gender and class were also blurred. I’m interested in how long it took Tan to compose this book, and I’m also interested in the two-page,...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

05/11/08

Eileen rated it:

(review of isbn 0734406940)

bookshelves: fiction, graphic-novel

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Eileen by: Amy

Using the philosophy that a single picture is worth 1,000 words, this amazing novel tells the story of immigration with not a single typed word. The protagonist must leave his home for life in a new and very unfamiliar place. The illustraions show how he deals with finding a place to live and work with limited language skills. Because everything in this new world is also unfamiliar to the "reader", it really drew me in to the man's trepidation and confusion as he learns how to fend fo...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment