- Hardcover: 128 pages
- Publisher: Orchard; illustrated edition edition (1 May 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0734406940
- ISBN-13: 978-0734406941
- Product Dimensions: 31.2 x 23.6 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,255,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
...a remarkable and skilful work of art.
(Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times )This book should be 'read' by adults and children alike. It's astonishing.
With this haunting, wordless sequence about a lonely emigrant in a bewildering city, Tan ... finds in the graphic novel format an ideal outlet for his sublime imagination.... few will remain unaffected by this timeless stunner.
Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form.
...an unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect.
(Kirkus Reviews )Tan's lovingly laid out and masterfully rendered tale about the immigrant experience is a documentary magically told by way of Surrealism.
The Arrival is an absolute wonder. It's not often you see art of this quality, or a book that's so brave.
(Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis and Embroideries )Shaun Tan delivers a shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city... The Arrival is one of the best graphic novels of the year!
Entirely wordless, but brimming with sounds and conversations in foreign tongues, Shaun Tan's book emanates the warmth of faded photographs...
(Craig Thompson, author of Blankets )The Arrival is beautiful... The drawings are just so lovely, endlessly detailed and wonderfully strange. And the design of the book, with it's wrinkled pages and stains and broken leather is marvellous.
Anyone who thinks that the graphic novel is no more than a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, ought to take a look at "The Arrival." This magnificent work not only establishes itself in a major new literary genre but raises the stakes for anyone seriously considering working in it.
(David Small, Caldecott Medalist for So You Want To Be President? )Shaun Tan's artwork creates a fantastical, hauntingly familiar atmosphere. A strange, moving, and beautiful story.
Shaun Tan's The Arrival may be the most brilliant book of the year'
This book should be 'read' by adults and children alike. It's astonishing.
It will fascinate and occupy adults and children alike
A powerful, at times harrowing read, Tan's creation is a major achievement.
The reader's experience, as he or she tries to make sense of the unfamiliar scenes and strange images, parallels that of the emigrant, striving to understand without the aid of language. This extraordinarily accomplished pieces of storytelling can be read and understood on many different levels.
The surreal, sepia illustrations in th is remarkable book invite repeated study. Strangely beautiful and frightening, you can spend hours searching for hidden meanings and extra stories.
A true marvel on any bookshelf, a unique piece of at and a beautifully told story.
'a brilliant wordless story of a migrant arriving in a strange, indecipherable city.'
(Anthony Browne, The Telegraph )Sited as No 35 in The Times 100 Best Books of all time. "An imaginative triumph. Every home should have one."
(The Times )'Tan delineates the strange, sad experience of immigration in stunning, sepia-toned, exquisitely detailed, wordless panels. An imaginative triumph. Every home should have one.'
(The Times 100 Best Books of the Decade -at 35 )Stunning illustrations... poignant and atmospheric.
(Observer ) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.Product Description
What drives so many to leave everything behind and journey alone to a mysterious country, a place without family or friends, where everything is nameless and the future is unknown. This silent graphic novel is the story of every migrant, every refugee, every displaced person, and a tribute to all those who have made the journey. (20111023)
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I would recommend this book on the strength and beauty of the drawings alone, but I am happy to say that it also tells a moving, compelling story. It captures well that first encounter with a new country, the "arrival" when one is geting to know a new place, new language, new foods and trying to make sense of it all. Is this world safer than the one you've left behind? What dangers forced you to leave?
Through using elements of fantasy, it avoids an easy exoticism and prevents us from patronising the main characters -- we don't understand this world either, can't read its language, don't recognise its animals or know how its machines work. We aren't sure what is safe and what is not. We would like to believe the world is benign, but we don't know, and there seem infinite possiblities for things to go wrong. In this tension, it also captures the importance of the kindness of strangers and of fellow immigrants, whose sometimes painful back-stories are conveyed beautifully and concisely in one or two pages of images.
All this, without the use of words. A remarkable achievement.
I am an immigrant by choice, not necessity (as are many of the characters in this story), but I know what I will be giving my friends and relatives for years to come.
Through using elements of fantasy, it avoids an easy exoticism and prevents us from patronising the main characters -- we don't understand this world either, can't read its language, don't recognise its animals or know how its machines work. We aren't sure what is safe and what is not. We would like to believe the world is benign, but we don't know, and there seem infinite possiblities for things to go wrong. In this tension, it also captures the importance of the kindness of strangers and of fellow immigrants, whose sometimes painful back-stories are conveyed beautifully and concisely in one or two pages of images.
All this, without the use of words. A remarkable achievement.
I am an immigrant by choice, not necessity (as are many of the characters in this story), but I know what I will be giving my friends and relatives for years to come.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Leave those you love behind to face a fearful future. Arrive in a bewildering place - strange and uncaring. Slowly friendly strangers help you move around, make sense of bizarre food, and begin to make sense of this place. Every good person has tale to tell. Most have beautiful surreal pets too. A testament to one of the bravest acts of humanity - to leave everything behind and seek a future for you and your family in another world.
Shaun Tan has produced another work that combines the surreal with profound human experience. This is more clearly aimed at a older audience - some adults found the 'picture book' format a barrier to engaging with 'The Red Tree'. The artwork and presentation is beautifully done - the paper is detailed like aged documents - spots of mould or cracks where a picture has been kept in a pocket - give a feel of a treasured scrapbook of life-changing moments.
The book is wordless - and unlike his previous works, has many smaller drawings (some can be seen at his website). They are all pencilled with subtle colours added, giving a more sombre feel that previous works, but the story and his wonderful details quickly capture your full attention.
[...]
Shaun Tan has produced another work that combines the surreal with profound human experience. This is more clearly aimed at a older audience - some adults found the 'picture book' format a barrier to engaging with 'The Red Tree'. The artwork and presentation is beautifully done - the paper is detailed like aged documents - spots of mould or cracks where a picture has been kept in a pocket - give a feel of a treasured scrapbook of life-changing moments.
The book is wordless - and unlike his previous works, has many smaller drawings (some can be seen at his website). They are all pencilled with subtle colours added, giving a more sombre feel that previous works, but the story and his wonderful details quickly capture your full attention.
[...]
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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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.)
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.)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Arrival
There are no words in this book and it needs none. The drawings are so beautiful that the story is there for all to create. Read more
Published 1 month ago by tobyfleabag
Story Without Words
This excellent book was originally bought as a gift for my grandson but I soon found myself caught up in the beautiful illustrations and magic of a wonderfully imaginative... Read more
Published 2 months ago by fingerbob
Masterpiece
this book is one of my favorite books of all time. it just draws me into its world and never seizes to surprise me. Read more
Published 3 months ago by NataliaC
Brilliantly interesting!
This book had been recommended to me by amazon for a while, so after googling it and reading a bit about the author I finally decided to buy it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. L. Day
Perfect
A very special book by a very unique and creative artist.
Extremely interesting and imaginative with many amazing illustrations. Read more
Extremely interesting and imaginative with many amazing illustrations. Read more
Published 3 months ago by -
A novel without any words.
Wow - this illustrated book is such a treat. It's so beautifully and imaginatively illustrated, and the story is quite something. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Customer
Amazing artwork to really get you thinking
I have a number of books by Shaun Tan but decided to review this one now because I want to share how brilliant it is with anyone else considering buying a copy. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Purpledays
A thought provoking book for your shelf..forever
Wow...amazing thought provoking drawings! I read in my head as I made up the words for what was happening. Read more
Published 11 months ago by mizzy
Beautiful book
There is something dreamlike about the artwork. Partly the associations we have with sepia toning and old photographs perhaps. The pictures have something of that quality. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. Jonathan B. Allen
It's an experience, not a book. (Erm... it's also a book).
A friend of mine showed me his copy of the Arrival and I liked it so much I got myself a copy. The visual aspects of this book is pretty much everything there is to it, but that's... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. Dan M. Littlewood
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