Book review: The Arrival By Shawn Tan

I recently read another graphic novel by Shawn Tan called "The Arrival". This book describes of a father who leaves his family and the place he satys to go to another place and work. He ends up in this place so foreign and unfamiliar to him, confused yet intrigued by his surroundings. He meets locals who guide him along the way and each having their own story to tell. Finally in the end, he is reunited with his wife and daughter who gave him a surprise visit at the place where he is working in and they lived happily together.

When i first got hold of this book, the first thing that struck my attention was the appearance of the cover. The cover of the book made it look look like old, worn leather. Throughout the book, Shawn Tan uses beautifully and eloquent images to tell the story of the protagonist's story. The book itself looks like a photoalbum and he maintains this beauty throughout the book. I enjoy the way he shows different perspectives of certain objects by first closing up and slowly zooming out of a certain image to give thr reader a deeper understanding of what is going on. For example in one scene, the protagonist opens his suitcase to find an image of his wife and daughter eating dinner. A moment later, the suitcase’s actual contents replace the image. The protagonist pulls out a family portrait and nails it to the wall with his shoe. He sits back to contemplate it. A sequence of pictures then carries the reader away from him and out the window, showing first his apartment building and finally his adopted city. Another scene first shows the reader in the ship, looking out of the window and another sequence of imgaes slowly zooms out to show the whole ship and the storm in which the ship is sailing in.

Another thing I enjoy about this book is the way he uses only three main colours, brown, black and white in his depictions to make the pictures old and in a way precious. Also, Shawn Tan way of depicting the emotions of the protagonist through his facial expressions and actions is very impressive. For example, in one scene where the protagonist was interviewed by one of the locals when he just arrived at the foreign place, Tan uses a sequence of images showing the protagonist gripping on to his hat, giving gestures to show that he does not understand what the local was trying to say. The flow in which these images show how his feelings of frustration develop is truly an art.

I would strongly encourage all of you to read this book as it fit for all ages and it really brings pictures which what seems like they were drawn by a little kid to life. It is really an interesting book which lights a smile on your face.