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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Where can we live if not in each other's shadow? World-renowned artist Shaun Tan applies his unique imagination to a reflection on the nature of humans and animals, and our urban coexistence. From crocodile to frog, tiger to bee, this is a dark and surreal exploration of the perennial love and destruction we feel and inflict—of how animals can save us, and how our lives are forever entwined, for better or for worse. Tales from the Inner City is a masterful work, bearing all of Shaun Tan's trademark wit and poignancy in both its prose and exquisite illustrations.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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Epigraph: The animals of the world exists for their own reasons. (Alice Walker)
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Dedication: for Helen Chamberlin.
Contents
- [Crocodile] Crocodiles Live on the 87th Floor, single work short story (p. 1-5)
- [Butterfly] The Butterflies, single work short story (p. 7-11)
- [Once We Were Strangers]i"Once we were strangers,", single work poetry (p. 13-49)
- [Snail], single work prose (p. 51-53)
- [Shark], single work short story (p. 55-59)
- [Cat] The Greatest Cat in the World, single work short story (p. 61-67)
- [Horse], single work short story (p. 69-73)
- [Pig], single work short story (p. 75-79)
- [Moonfish], single work short story (p. 81-93)
- [Rhinoceros]i"The rhino was on the freeway again.", single work poetry (p. 95-97)
- [Owl] Ward, single work prose (p. 99-117)
- [Frog], single work short story (p. 119-123)
- [Sheep], single work prose (p. 125-127)
- [Hippopotamus], single work short story (p. 129-135)
- [Lungfish], single work short story (p. 137-145)
- [Orca], single work prose (p. 147-149)
- [Tiger] Tigerpass, single work short story (p. 151-157)
- [Parrot], single work short story (p. 159-163)
- [Bear], single work short story (p. 165-171)
- [Eagle], single work short story (p. 173-177)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Aesthetic Entanglements in the Age of the Anthropocene : A Posthuman Reading of Shaun Tan's Tales from the Inner City
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Bookbird , vol. 60 no. 4 2022; (p. 38-47)'This article examines Shaun Tan's evocative Tales from the Inner City (2018) and explores how, through word and image, Tan questions the effects of the Anthropocene and the possible synergies and tensions between the human and more-than-human in his work, inviting us to look at human and animal relationships in new and challenging ways. To do so, I draw on concepts such as empathy and an ethics of care to question the privileged anthropocentrism of Western society and human exceptionalism over animals.' (Introduction)
-
Reading and Viewing
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 55 no. 1 2020; (p. 78-82)
— Review of Love Is Strong as Death 2019 anthology poetry ; Changing Gear 2018 single work novel ; Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work ; Cicada 2018 single work picture book -
Review of Tales from the Inner City
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Marvels & Tales , vol. 34 no. 1 2020; (p. 134-135)
— Review of Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work'You know from the very first glance, from the very first touch, that a book created by Shaun Tan, such as Tales from the Inner City, is going to disturb you. It is going to send you spiraling from your so-called real world into a world in which you will be speechless and wordless because his marvelously peculiar drawings and paintings are so provocative and alienating. You feel as though you have been transported to Kafka’s novella Metamorphosis (1915), and, like Gregor Samsa, you awake and are incapable of knowing what has transpired and caused the world to turn upside down. The more you try to be rational, the more the world around you appears to be weird and irrational.' (Introduction)
-
Shaun Tan : 'We’re Not Being Mean to Animals – but There Is Evil in Obliviousness'
Sian Cain
(interviewer),
2020
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 19 June 2020;'What would happen if bears sued humanity and fish left the sea? The author-illustrator of Tales from the Inner City on animal rights, veganism and winning the Kate Greenaway medal'
-
Reading and Viewing
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 54 no. 3 2019; (p. 70-76)
— Review of Cicada 2018 single work picture book ; Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work ; The Final Quarter 2019 single work film/TV biography ; Between the Flags 2007 single work film/TV
-
[Review] Tales from the Inner City
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: The Horn Book Magazine , November / December vol. 94 no. 6 2018; (p. 91)
— Review of Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work -
Review of Tales from the Inner City
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Marvels & Tales , vol. 34 no. 1 2020; (p. 134-135)
— Review of Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work'You know from the very first glance, from the very first touch, that a book created by Shaun Tan, such as Tales from the Inner City, is going to disturb you. It is going to send you spiraling from your so-called real world into a world in which you will be speechless and wordless because his marvelously peculiar drawings and paintings are so provocative and alienating. You feel as though you have been transported to Kafka’s novella Metamorphosis (1915), and, like Gregor Samsa, you awake and are incapable of knowing what has transpired and caused the world to turn upside down. The more you try to be rational, the more the world around you appears to be weird and irrational.' (Introduction)
-
Reading and Viewing
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 54 no. 3 2019; (p. 70-76)
— Review of Cicada 2018 single work picture book ; Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work ; The Final Quarter 2019 single work film/TV biography ; Between the Flags 2007 single work film/TV -
Reading and Viewing
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 55 no. 1 2020; (p. 78-82)
— Review of Love Is Strong as Death 2019 anthology poetry ; Changing Gear 2018 single work novel ; Tales from the Inner City 2018 selected work single work short story poetry prose art work ; Cicada 2018 single work picture book -
Hovering between Worlds
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January / February no. 408 2019; (p. 35)'It is hard to think of a more distinctive and idiosyncratic author than Western Australian Shaun Tan. Winner of the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s literature, Tan’s work has also been recognised by numerous awards in speculative fiction, illustration, and children’s books, including an Academy Award in 2011 (for the animated short adaptation of The Lost Thing). By sheer force of imagination and talent, Tan seems to have carved out a unique niche for himself, one that hovers between the worlds of images and words, children and adults, extravagant fantasy and the most visceral realism. In his latest book, Tales from the Inner City, Tan brings his focus to the fissure between the natural and human worlds.' (Introduction)
-
Shaun Tan : 'We’re Not Being Mean to Animals – but There Is Evil in Obliviousness'
Sian Cain
(interviewer),
2020
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 19 June 2020;'What would happen if bears sued humanity and fish left the sea? The author-illustrator of Tales from the Inner City on animal rights, veganism and winning the Kate Greenaway medal'
-
Aesthetic Entanglements in the Age of the Anthropocene : A Posthuman Reading of Shaun Tan's Tales from the Inner City
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Bookbird , vol. 60 no. 4 2022; (p. 38-47)'This article examines Shaun Tan's evocative Tales from the Inner City (2018) and explores how, through word and image, Tan questions the effects of the Anthropocene and the possible synergies and tensions between the human and more-than-human in his work, inviting us to look at human and animal relationships in new and challenging ways. To do so, I draw on concepts such as empathy and an ethics of care to question the privileged anthropocentrism of Western society and human exceptionalism over animals.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2021 winner Premio Anderson Children's Book Awards (Italy) — Best book over 15 years old Piccole storie dal centro trans. Omar Martini Tunue
- 2020 winner Yoto Carnegies Library Association Awards (UK) CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Awards — Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration
- 2019 shortlisted Ditmar Awards — Best Collected Work
- 2019 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Book of the Year for Older Children
- 2019 CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Notable Book — Older Readers