A review by kailey_luminouslibro
The Arrival by Shaun Tan

5.0

This graphic novel follows a man who immigrates to a new land, and everything is strange and wondrous to him. He leaves his family to start a better life, and makes friends in his new country, works several jobs, until he has enough money to send for his family.
The land he travels to is weird and wild, has monsters for pets, and crawly vegetables! It's a dream world with strange public transportation, and wacky home appliances.

The drawings are imaginative and beautiful! I love the sepia tones that give a feeling of history. There are no words or dialogue in this book (even the alphabet is invented), so the illustrations become the complete focus. The details are wonderfully descriptive, so that you can follow the story easily. People's facial expressions tell the whole story, and there is a feeling of time passing or history coming to a point that is lovely and poignant.

Since the immigrant can't speak the language or understand anyone's words, there is no need for dialogue anyway. This story is all about connecting to people without words, across language barriers, across cultural differences, and through the simple things we all have in common.

Beautifully done!