the-arrival8

I received my copy of Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival” in the mail today and “read” it. It’s a graphic novel told totally in pictures about an immigrant’s experience in a strange and fantastic “new world” where he tries to make a living to bring his family with him from their oppressed homeland. Tan’s drawings are exquisite and evocative. It’s one of the best graphic novels I’ve ever seen both because of the art and the beauty of the story. At a time when many people in this country do not want to welcome immigrants, this story seems to have “arrived” at just the right historical moment. I think all of you would really enjoy it, but I especially recommend it to Toby. I’ve been watching Tan’s career for some time now, but this book is sure to cement it. You can view a few images from the graphic novel at his website here: http://www.shauntan.net but in order to really get a sense of the amount of drawing and the consistency of quality you should get a hold of a copy. Anyone interested in illustration and visual storytelling will love it.