When I read Shaun Tan's 'The Arrival' I felt as though I had been transported into a different world. All the sounds around I dimmed to a muted silence as I was immersed in the quiet reality of the book. Using solely pictures to tell the tale of one man's journey from his oppressed country into the free world, Tan forces the reader to look beyond the drawn image and hear the sounds, feel the emotions, touch the pavement, and share in the confusion and discovery.
As the daughter of immigrant parents, I was truly able to appreciate Tan's attention to the simple details of the immigrant experience. Inventing a new language based on symbols beautifully portrayed the feeling of confusion my parents described to me when they first arrived in the United States. It was all there in this story: the medical exams, the labeling, the misunderstanding, the moments of distraught fear, the unexpected helping hand, the exchange of stories, the slow adaptation to new life, the reunion, and finally, the complete sense of belonging - it was both foreign and familiar.
Tan also masterfully makes this book a universal experience; his characters can be from any ethnic background and their oppressive countries could be anywhere in the world. This universality also extends to the 'land of freedom' where the bizarre foods, transportation, monuments, animals, and language make even the reader feel like they are on a distant planet. Moreover, his stunning drawings perfectly illustrate the main characters emotions; transporting the reader into this silent journey and making them part of the story - at times as a silent witness, others as another character.
Although 'The Arrival' is a beautiful and detailed picture book, I would not read it to children under 11 years of age. It has a very mature content which palpably evokes emotions of fear, confusion, and distress that might be shocking for a young audience. Shaun Tan has written a memoir in silence, but the silence should not be considered a lack of communication, only a different medium. |
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