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Words
fail to describe the beauty of illustrator Shaun Tan's latest
book, The Arrival. But that's probably because this
book has no words in it.
Yes,
you read that correctly. There are no words in this
book.
And yet,
The Arrival contains a tight narrative that weaves
a poignant tale about immigration and solidarity through a
series of breathtaking pencil drawings. The book begins
with a man packing his bags and saying goodbye to his wife
and
young daughter before venturing on a steamboat for another
land where he must find work and shelter, though he is not
familiar with the customs, foods, or language of his newly
adopted country.
The storyline
is highly reminiscent of early Twentieth Century Ellis Island
tales, and Tan's sepia-toned Art Deco illustrations cement
the impression. Several drawings are, in fact, inspired by
photographs Tan found of Ellis Island. However, the details
are very decidedly not New York-based; Tan's sci-fi/fantasy
world of strange creatures and wondrous machinery instead
looks like a sophisticated hybrid of Tim Burton's whimsy and
Disneyland's It's a Small World…without the scary dancing
children.
This
approach is actually rather ingenious of Tan, as it helps
submerge readers in the main character's perspective. Though
this émigré leaves a place full of objects familiar to the
reader (including chipped teapots, steam engine trains, and
origami cranes), he emerges in a land whose environment and
language—represented by a series of hieroglyphs—are
as beautiful and perplexing to him as they are to readers.
Like
a silent film, The Arrival conveys a wealth of emotion
through action and expression rather than words. The main
character's farewell to his family is heartbreaking, but his
interactions with the people of his new home are heartwarming.
The kindness of strangers helps him settle into this fantastical
environment, and their stories of their own pasts—fraught
with images of war, subjugation, and giant men in haz-mat
suits—teach him that he is not alone.
In fact,
it is this marriage of humanness and beautiful artistry that
makes The Arrival so moving. Tan could very well have
created another immigrant tale of isolation and struggle,
but he instead chose to focus on something brighter and more
optimistic, and the result is a gorgeous work of art with
the ability to restore one's faith in humanity. This is a
definite can't-miss book.
(December,
2007)
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