The Arrival

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel, meaning that there are no words throughout the entire book. Instead, the story is portrayed through well-drawn pictures. The lack of words in the story means that interpretation is needed. For the reader to understand the story, observance and a little guesswork are integral.
The introduction is quite brief; all we can deduce is that a father is travelling to another weird land. Their world is very different from ours; the man sits in a flying cubicle, and he is transported to another place. Strange animals also roam the place. The man seems to feel very lost and unsure in that city.
He does not understand the language used by the locals, and faces a lot of trouble in communication. Most of the time, he communicates with the locals through his drawings. In one case, when he was looking for a home, he drew a bed, and showed it to one of the locals.
He is also unaccustomed to the food in the city. The food that he finds in the city is odd-shaped and unappetising.
Another problem he faces is loneliness. He is shown looking at his family photo in numerous instances. He also writes letters back home. He seems to miss his home, and his family. He is overjoyed when his family finally came.
He is portrayed as a hard-working man in the story. He frantically looks for a job to sustain himself. He also wakes up early in the morning to work, and earn extra money. He also tries to learn the local language. He carries with him a small notebook, in which he tries to learn the language. Thus, we can infer that he is hard-working.
He is also a friendly person. He made a few friends in the foreign city, so he must be quite approachable and friendly.
Generally, this book is an enjoyable read, and is suitable for all ages, due to the lack of words. I find this a refreshing change from the usual wordy passages. The pictures are drawn with amazing detail, and I have no trouble in guessing what is drawn. The author/illustrator manages to portray the emotions of the characters efficiently, and this is a major plus point. Put aside your comics- this is the best graphic novel you will ever encounter.