The Arrival by Shaun Tan

This “new” book looks like it came from my mother’s 50 year old library in her 100 year old Victorian house. It’s not a pretty book by today’s standards; it looks old, faded and brown. When I start leafing through the pages, I see wonderful drawings on every page but there is not any text. The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel and tells the story of a man immigrating to a new world and what he experiences in a strange new land while missing his family that he left behind.

I found that I had to be in a silent room and concentrate on each drawing so that I didn’t miss any details of the story. Once I started reading the book by “looking” at the drawings, it was very easy to understand and I especially liked the little animals in the story. I enjoyed my first experience reading this ‘graphic novel’ and I plan to read more.

Reviewed by Mrs. Finney