A Sneak Peek into Suburbia
If you haven't checked out The Arrival,
then you are missing out. It is a beautiful wordless book by Shaun Tan
about the arrival of an immigrant man to a bizarre new world. Well,
Shaun Tan has created another masterpiece called Tales from Outer Suburbia
that publishes in February 2009. This collection of (sub)urban legends
for ages 12 and up is a random walk through a strange and fantastical
world. Tan's idiosyncratic drawings take mundane suburban life and give
it an unconventional makeover. There are all kinds of stories:
some of them with clearly defined outcomes, and others that, in my
opinion, are meant to be enjoyed for what they are, with no requisite
moral lesson.
There is the story of Eric, for example, an unusual foreign exchange student. Eric had a tendency to sleep and study in the kitchen pantry. He kept to himself, and rarely had questions for his hosts. When he did ask something, it would be about an object or subject that his hosts took for granted. There is a picture of Eric looking curiously at the underside of a postage stamp, and pointing out the serial number on an electrical plug. His hosts would dismiss his strange demeanor as being a "cultural thing." Then, one day, Eric left with just a wave and a good-bye. His hosts didn't even know that he was leaving for good. He did leave them something though . . .
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Then there's a story about a discontented family who always complained about their lives, until they found a secret inner courtyard in their house! The family started having picnics in their inner courtyard, and they enjoyed the privacy and the special secret that only their family knew about . . . or so they thought.
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Another great story is about a place where every household has their own missile. They were just sitting there, in the backyard, waiting for the time when the government may need to use them. Eventually they became so commonplace that people started decorating their missiles. Soon everyone was painting their missile, or using it to grow plants, or store things.
The artwork in this book is stunning. Tan's style is such an eclectic mix of the real and surreal. Some illustrations are with color, some without, and some juxtapose vibrant hues against a shaded backdrop. The illustration about the inner courtyard looks like a painting that you might see at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Shaun Tan has let his imagination run wild once again, and I love it! I hope you'll love this book as much as I do. What's the story that your imagination would tell about your neighborhood?
— Nick, STACKS Staffer
i really love your books ever time i read one and i finish i want to read another one of your books
Comment #1 | Posted by: Sta on April 24, 2009 at 08:21 PM
your bokks are totaly awesome
Comment #2 | Posted by: Sta on April 24, 2009 at 08:24 PM
I think your books are so cool that i stay up all night and read 30 bokks and if you can just post a comment to tell me if you thinked my comments was coolbut if not just say i really didnt think those was cool but if you do just say your comment was so cool i wont you to keep on typing comments about how much you think my books are awesome,cool,and so much more than i can talk so how about sending more books of yours outbye bye bye bye
Comment #3 | Posted by: bell on April 24, 2009 at 08:38 PM