![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It is remarkable how Tan manages to fully engage the reader in the difficulties inherent in the immigrant’s predicament without using a single word, and his dreamy, sepia-colored artwork is stunning. Tan has created an alphabet for the new country so that the reader can experience the disorientation of encountering undecipherable signage, just as his protagonist does. ![]() The world he left behind is a dark, dreary, sinister, claustrophobic sort of place, while the new world is a bustling, bright, animated and welcoming one. For instance, one comical scene has the new arrival trying to figure out how to use the water spigot in his room. Not a single element of his life remains unchanged. He is totally immersed in the unfamiliar: language, food, clothing, furniture, appliances, vehicles, architecture, even plants and animals. The voyage the protagonist makes is as much an internal one as an external one. It is the story of a man who immigrates to a foreign land to escape oppression and to make a better life for himself and for his family who will join him later. The Arrival is a graphic novel in the fullest sense the entire story is told exclusively with images. ![]()
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