The Arrival

Finally got a chance to read this beauty.
With no words to guide the story, the artist has a nice way to catch the viewer's attention.
Telling a story just through images is a task which Shaun Tan executes beautifully.
As many, I am sure, must have said before me - I now understand why this book is vehemently recommended.
A must read for those looking to start reading graphic novels.
PS. So lucky to be in a place with a library that has such gorgeous books. So so grateful.

I read this in the children's library at the Eric Carlisle Museum days before my wedding. It was so emotionally evocative in a vague complex way that I instantly made a mental note to add it to my library, so I could share it with others. Of course, in the excitement of the succeeding days, I forgot all about The Arrival until just a few days ago when Christian Heilmann tweeted some images of the art. And now, I will have to find some shelf space for this wonder.

A story told wordlessly, as only a masterful comic book artist could do.

The beautiful images placed next to one another form a visual thread that is easy to follow and understand. The story about the different experiences of immigration was poignant and felt realistic despite the fantastical setting. This authenticity was achieved through meticulous research and inspiration from real events without merely replicating them. (Shaun Tan's note at the end mentioned photos of post-war Europe and Ellis Island, among others as reference points)

A thought-provoking and captivating work of art, Shaun Tan's The Arrival is a graphic novel I highly recommend to anyone seeking to explore the possibilities of the medium.

A wordless graphic novel, The Arrival is the story of a man who leaves his family to work in the big city of a foreign land. The pictures show a place both familiar and strange, people both familiar and strange, objects both familiar and strange. That combination of familiarity and strangeness created a feeling of fascination in this reader that kept me reading (Reading? Is that the word for figuring out the story from the pictures without text?) to the end. A brilliant book. A must-read.