Reviews

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

pauline_b's review against another edition

4.0

I have been putting off reading this silent graphic novel telling myself I should do it at "the right moment to really savour it". Today I picked it up and I thought it was brilliant.

The drawings are so beautiful and realistic, I sometimes felt I was looking at old sepia photographs. At the same time, the artist cleverly uses surealism to strengthen the feeling of isolation and estrangement.
The story is so relatable: going to a foreign country, trying to understand its unspoken rules and to fit in. Highly recommend this to anyone.

4,5 stars

jrblack321's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

emmaraeempowered's review

4.0

The Arrival was an incredible work of art. This graphic novel has no words but as the old saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words". The Arrival accomplishes this beautifully! The artwork is so stunning! There are so many details within each image. I found myself starring at pages for a long time and then finally turning the page to progress the story. 
As an adult reading this I found this an incredible story of immigrating to a new country and how terrifying that is and overwhelming. I also loved the sense of community that they depicted. 
I going to have to go purchase my own copy because I want to continue looking at the artwork and this was a library copy. 

lawbooks600's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

luci_qf's review against another edition

4.0

beautifully interesting

peanutbuttersalad's review

I like the little round guy

farnz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A man says goodbye to his wife & daughter & boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's leaving home to build a better future for his family. Touches on aspects of an immigrant's experience. The main character can't communicate in words so the book forgoes them too. Absolutely beautiful illustrations. It’s all in gradients of gray, brown & beige- no colour. You feel the main character's isolation + joy. Really liked the photos of diverse immigrant at the beginning & end of the book. Also, I love a happy ending. 

adastrame's review against another edition

5.0

A wonderfully strange graphic novel that conveys the experience of immigration through pictures alone, without needing words. Very beautifully drawn!

flavio_fly's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

mollywetta's review against another edition

I really loved the concept of this wordless picture books and especially the cute little monsters.