The awesomeness of Shaun Tan
Sep. 16th, 2008 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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50books_pocI had time to kill in the city today so went into the library, and ended up reading two books by local (west australian) author and artist Shaun Tan. They were amazing. I literally sat there on a small lime green chair in the children's section with tears rolling down my eyes unable to stop reading. The descriptions on his website are much better than I can manage, and have some of the gorgeous artwork that makes his work so unique.
I must admit to having a little home-time pride in Shaun, especially since he still has ties to the local science fiction community (which I'm very involved in) and is from everything I've seen just a really nice guy. But that doesn't make him any less awesome :)
His illustration is also very good, though so far I prefer the stories he writes himself.
His books are all picture books, but they are definitely for adults and older children.
6: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan
A short strange little story about a boy who discovers a lost..thing, and tries to help it. The "normal" world the boy inhabits is itself strange, it reminds me of the surreal banality of "Brazil".
7: The Arrival by Shaun Tan
This is just...you have to read this book. It has no words (apart from the title and afterword) and is a beautiful story about a man who travels to a strange land as an immigrant, the way he makes his way through the incomprehensible world around him and the stories of the people he meets. I skimmed through it in a bookstore a few years ago and had to stop because it made me cry, but it is above all a story of hope.
I must admit to having a little home-time pride in Shaun, especially since he still has ties to the local science fiction community (which I'm very involved in) and is from everything I've seen just a really nice guy. But that doesn't make him any less awesome :)
His illustration is also very good, though so far I prefer the stories he writes himself.
His books are all picture books, but they are definitely for adults and older children.
6: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan
A short strange little story about a boy who discovers a lost..thing, and tries to help it. The "normal" world the boy inhabits is itself strange, it reminds me of the surreal banality of "Brazil".
7: The Arrival by Shaun Tan
This is just...you have to read this book. It has no words (apart from the title and afterword) and is a beautiful story about a man who travels to a strange land as an immigrant, the way he makes his way through the incomprehensible world around him and the stories of the people he meets. I skimmed through it in a bookstore a few years ago and had to stop because it made me cry, but it is above all a story of hope.
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Date: 2008-09-16 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-17 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-25 01:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 09:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-29 05:00 pm (UTC)This book might very well become my mom's Christmas present.
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Date: 2008-10-29 10:44 pm (UTC)Glad to share the Shaun Tan love.