AustLit
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
"The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time. A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages. With nothing more than a suitcase and a handful of currency, the immigrant must find a place to live, food to eat and some kind of gainful employment. He is helped along the way by sympathetic strangers, each carrying their own unspoken history: stories of struggle and survival in a world of incomprehensible violence, upheaval and hope." (Source: Shaun Tan website)
Adaptations
- The Arrival 2006 single work drama children's 'The Arrival is a universal tale of the challenges, the humour and adventures of arriving in a new country and resonates far beyond any arrival, a new school, a new job, a new town.' Source: http://www.sppt.asn.au/arrival.htm (Sighted 17/07/2006)
- The Red Tree Michael Yezerski (composer), 2008 single work musical theatre 'Music and imagery tell the thought-provoking tale of The Red Tree, inspired by the popular book of award-winning Australian author and artist Shaun Tan. In an extraordinary collaboration, this new work will be created by rising star composer Michael Yezerski with Richard Tognetti and the remarkable young singers of Gondwana Voices. Two deeply moving works of art combine in one incredible experience when Shostakovich's final string quartet accompanies illustrations from Shaun Tan's The Arrival, the story of a displaced person's journey to a new life told entirely through illustration.' Source: www.aco.com.au (Sighted 28/07/2008).
- The Arrival 2009 single work drama
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The Arrival
Mutation Theatre
,
2010
single work
drama
'In the ruins of a circus tent, a troupe of actors gather to tell the story of an asylum seekers journey to a new country. Based on the multi-award winning picture book by Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, The Arrival is a new, large-scale theatrical work from acclaimed independent company Mutation Theatre. The Arrival tells the story of a man who travels from his oppressive homeland, leaving his wife and child behind, to find a new life for them in a far away country. It is a captivating and heartfelt tale about the journey of an asylum seeker, and the challenges they face after arriving in a new country. '
Source: Mutation Theatre blogspot, www.mutationtheatre.blogspot.com (sighted 29/09/2010)
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The Arrival London : Methuen Drama , 2013 28265150 2013 single work drama
'A moment of kindness in a sea of unfamiliarity... A long, hard day at work... A lively party... A nostalgic lullaby...
'The story begins in Nigeria where the character of Dele plays a last game of football with his friends and says goodbye to his son Chidi, telling him he will send for him. He then embarks on a voyage where he meets strangers along the way carrying their own stories of upheaval, struggle and hope - sharing his dream to make their home in a new city and be joined by their families. Dele's journey melds with the present day. In an inner-city hostel, Dele is an old man being looked after by Tian Mey, his carer. He reflects the past and his journey to where he is now and his story intertwines with the other migrants, both in his memories of the journey and the present-day reality of the hostel.
'Based on the illustrated novel by Oscar winner Shaun Tan, one man's tale echoes the many 'arrivals' happening around us all the time. This epic migration story unfolds through an extraordinary weaving together of theatre, circus and music. The Arrival tells the age-old story of immigration that is universal across peoples of diverse histories, countries and cultures.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Reading Australia
This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.
Unit Suitable For
AC: Year 10 (NSW Stage 5).
Themes
Australia, Australian Bush, Australian landscape, colonisation, connection to place, fear, gender, identity, isolation, marginalisation, migrant experience
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Information and communication technology, Intercultural understanding, Literacy, Numeracy, Personal and social
Notes
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The Arrival is a 128 page book of illustrations without words, a silent graphic novel. Through a series of connecting images, it tells the story of an anonymous migrant leaving some unfortunate circumstances in his home country, crossing an ocean to a strange new city, and learning how to live there. It is the story of every migrant, every refugee, every displaced person and a tribute to all those who have made the journey. It is a story without words but it tells a thousand tales. (Avid Reader Media Release 25/9/06)
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The Arrival won the 2007 Australian Publishers' Association award for best-designed children's illustrated book.
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Included in the New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books List for 2007.
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Images from The Arrival were used in 2008 by the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) in their performance 'The Arrival'. The ACO's performance combined Shostakovich's final string quartet with projected images from Tan's picture book.
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Included in the 2007 White Ravens Catalogue compiled by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. Special mention; international understanding; easily understandable.
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A musical score by Ben Walsh, inspired by The Arrival, first performed by Orkestra of The Underground to projected images from the book at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales, October 2010.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because a Japanese version has been published.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Broadening Your Students' Horizon : A Case Study of Text Selection in the Diverse and Changing World
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 57 no. 1 2022; (p. 15-27) -
Cultural Diversity and Australian Comics
2021
single work
essay
— Appears in: Folio : Stories of Contemporary Australian Comics , December 2021; -
Graphic Experiences of Immigration, Migration, and Diaspora: Shaun Tan's The Arrival and Matt Huynh's Interactive Graphic Adaptation of Nam Le's "The Boat"
2021
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Graphic Embodiments : Perspectives on Health and Embodiment in Graphic Narratives 2021; (p. 61-74) -
y
Representation and Memory in Graphic Novels London : Routledge , 2019 27121916 2019 multi chapter work criticism
'This book analyses the relationship between comics and cultural memory. By focussing on a range of landmark comics from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the discussion draws attention to the ongoing role of visual culture in framing testimony, particularly in relation to underprivileged subjects such as migrants and refugees, individuals dealing with war and oppressive regimes and individuals living with particular health conditions. The discussion is influenced by literary and cultural debates on the intersections between ethics, testimony, trauma, and human rights, reflected in its three overarching questions: ‘How do comics usually complicate the production of cultural memory in local contents and global mediascapes?’, ‘How do comics engage with, and generate, new forms of testimonial address?’, and ‘How do the comics function as mnemonic structures?
'The author highlights that the power of comics is that they allow both creators and readers to visualise the fracturing power of violence and oppression – at the level of the individual, domestic, communal, national and international – in powerful and creative ways. Comics do not stand outside of literature, cinema, or any of the other arts, but rather enliven the reciprocal relationship between the verbal and the visual language that informs all of these media. As such, the discussion demonstrates how fields such as graphic medicine, graphic justice, and comics journalism contribute to existing theoretical and analytics debates, including critical visual theory, trauma and memory studies, by offering a broad ranging, yet cohesive, analysis of cultural memory and its representation in print and digital comics.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
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International and Local Relief Organizations and the Promotion of Children’s and Young Adult Refugee Narratives
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Bookbird , vol. 57 no. 2 2019; (p. 35-49)'This article looks into refugee narratives produced or endorsed and promoted as children’s reading matter by international refugee relief organizations. The analysis accounts for their emergence as a separate genre with recurrent features, while questioning the assumptions that underlie their production and the aims they serve.' (Publication abstract)
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Kids' Lit
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 September - 1 October 2006; (p. 14)
— Review of The Arrival 2006 single work graphic novel ; Ten Things I Hate about Me 2006 single work novel -
Picture the Quest to Belong
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 14 - 15 October 2006; (p. 27)
— Review of The Arrival 2006 single work graphic novel -
The Journey of The Arrival
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newsletter of the Australian Centre for Youth Literature , October no. 2 2006; (p. 12-13)
— Review of The Arrival 2006 single work graphic novel -
A Collage of Visual Truths
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 November 2006; (p. 34-35)
— Review of The Arrival 2006 single work graphic novel -
This Week's Selections
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 11 November 2006; (p. 12)
— Review of The Arrival 2006 single work graphic novel -
Drawn to the Image
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 27 January 2007; (p. 26-27) -
Horror of a Hit
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 3 - 4 February 2007; (p. 23) -
Strangers in Strange Lands
2006
single work
column
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 14 no. 4 2006; (p. 4-7) Shaun Tan describes the creative process behind the development of The Arrival -
Taking a Punt on This List
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 21 - 22 April 2007; (p. 26) -
Wins Put Tan in Picture
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 30 May 2007; (p. 2)
Awards
- 2010 IBBY Honour Diploma — Illustration
- 2009 nominated German Youth Literature Award — Picture book Ein neues Land
- 2009 nominated Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis — Picture book
- 2008 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — International Success Award
- 2008 nominated Hugo Award — Best Related Work