The Arrival (2006)

This is one of those few books that you don't need to know how to read in order to enjoy its content. ( )

Some things can be understood in any language. Impressive short story with no words. I wished it was longer. The author mentions it was developed over 5 years. I particularly loved the pareidolia cloud formations sequence (they left the reader's mind to interpret their own meanings). Emotional and inspiring, filled with curious landscapes and fantastic creatures. I must look at Doré's "Over London by Rail". ( )

Very touching immigration story, excellent artwork. The complete absence of words works very well in support of the feeling of isolation. ( )

This wordless picture book is a masterpiece. It blends the historical events, atmosphere, and feelings of immigrants arriving in the United States with otherworldly details in the pictures. Children enjoy studying the pictures and creating their own dialogue. Children and adults will love the detailed images that look like photographs from an old family album. It is a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner.

"Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination" in a complex visual-only narrative. Told solely through wordless panels in sepia, a man leaves his family (wife and child) behind to find a better for them in a new land, travelling by rail and sea. When he arrives, he is confronted by a rigorous immigration process, strange customs, a strange alphabet/language, weird architecture, and very strange pets: all told, an alien world. After some initial miscues, he is eventually able to find work and make friends with the assistance of other immigrants, who have also fled their home countries for differing reasons/threats. Emotive always, some readers may be turned off by the absence of words and work needed to understand the story. ( )