Shaun Tan's The Arrival

So The Arrival was the first wordless comic i read, and it also was either the first or second one assigned for class. Hence this post is rather long overdue. And to add to it, i didn't bother to take notes on it unlike what i did for the rest (mae culpa). And so the following are the impressions that have lasted since the first reading which only furthers the fact that the book has such a strong affect on people. The post will be edited at a later date, after rereading the book, and will be further expanded upon...

The first thing I noticed when I started reading was the overall sense of being lost. I had no idea what was going on. And as the story progressed and it was revealed that the man was an immigrant, it was very easy to sympathize with him. He was going through what I have merely pages before. It was brilliant. Tan is a genius; he created a way for the reader and his main character to experience slightly similar situations. It allows the reader and his main character to have something in common, causing the reader to care more about the character’s quest. And that’s exactly what I found myself doing. I wanted him to succeed and find a job and be reunited with his family.

The art was as beautiful as the story. Every panel of every page was delicately crafted with as much care as fully rendered illustration. It was breath taking really.