We had a lively discussion at the April meeting about Shaun Tan’s The Arrival.
This wordless graphic novel, picturing the life of a migrant worker, took four years to research, develop and draw (as the author himself tells us in the back of the book), and was first published in 2006. It is based on the stories told by many different migrants from many different countries and historical periods, including Shaun Tan’s own father who came from Malaysia as a Colombo Plan student to Western Australia in 1960.
The book attempts to portray a universal story of a migrant’s experiences, regardless of the country he/she arrives in, by using imaginary details, like a strange language and an odd animal, alien to us all.
Members recognised some of the references in the book such as a drawing reminiscent of Tom Roberts’ painting, Going South (1886) and others based on photographs of the arrival hall at Ellis Island, New York, where immigrants were “processed”.
The book wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea because it is very effective and quite poignant in portraying the loneliness, isolation (one person amongst hundreds of other people), the mindless production line work often offered the immigrant, and the confusion of not knowing the language, customs, foods - even the animals and plants - of a new land.
One member said that the book was too hopeful, too Pollyanna-ish, because it ends happily, and there are people in the book who are welcoming to the migrant and who undertake random acts of kindness along the way. He reminded us that there are migrants, perhaps in our own family histories, who didn’t actually adapt, adjust and succeed in settling in a new country, sometimes with tragic results.
The Arrival won the Book of the Year prize as part of the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards in 2006. It also won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award in 2007 and the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Premier’s Prize in 2006. Shaun Tan has illustrated and written a number of other works. He won an Academy Award for The Lost Thing, a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated.
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In the same way, we hope you will take away from our reviews some pearlers to share with your regular club.
