The Arrival by Shaun Tan

      I loved this book. I had seen it many times before and even glanced through it a couple of times but never actually read the entire story. I find it amazing that Tan has created this complex and touching story by the use of illustration only. The subtle changes in environment and page color help give clues to who is recalling the memories and helps the readers mind from going into utter confusion.
     I love the way the story begins as well. How you recognize that the father/ husband is leaving his family while it seems a creature of some sort is taking over the city. I like how you don't know if this ominous creature, as seen only by a long black clawed tail, is causing harm or is just part of the unusual, but relatable world Tan has drawn.
     So the man leaves and is thrust into a world of strange pets and strange people. he finds himself a place to live where he discovers or more so, is discovered, by a creature i associate as being much like a dog, not in look but personality. Then this man goes to find work and meets a woman on a boat that can somehow fly through air. This is where Tan uses the color difference of the paper to show the woman's memory of arriving to this new land. After this Tan shows how the man is trying desperately to find a job.  Its interesting how he shows this struggle through, basically, only the man's body language and expressions on his face.
     Finally the man finds a job at a factory where yet again he meets a man who tells him of his own arrival and you see Tans color difference in paper again. Also i love how in meeting this man you discover that the old man has a pet with the same type of tail that it seen over the main characters old city. It gives a clue that the ominous creature may not have been dangerous after all.
     The story continues with the man just living in this new place and ends with the arrival of the mans own family. This just makes the title of the book so fitting. I like how Tan tells the arrival of the man but also of two people the man encounters and even the arrival of the mans family. So in total Tan's "The Arrival" Is really about multiple arrivals.  It shows the difficulties of a foreigner coming to live in a new place and also how coming to a new place can be freeing.