“You thought you knew suburbia. Then you meet an exchange student from another world, discover a secret room that lets you escape to a place of perfect beauty, find a neighborhood where brightly painted missiles decorate every yard, and wait for a blind reindeer who demands a very special offering…”
What a fun and magical book Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan turned out to be. I wasn’t sure what to expect but this collection of 15 short stories is all about making the ordinary a little bit more magical. There are fantastical characters, strange occurrences and basically suburban life is turned into a place with much more excitement and happenings than you could have ever imagined.
Not only were the stories exciting but the artwork is really beautiful. Whether it’s a colorful picture that goes with a story or drawings that are more broody and dark they all complement each story so well. It really makes me wonder though whether the pictures came first or the stories, or maybe it’s a combination of both creative efforts.
To me that is actually the hard part of a graphic novel. I want to soak up the words but I also don’t want to miss out on any of the visual elements. I know I’ve mentioned that I rarely do re-readings but with graphic novels I do re-viewings I guess. I do like to go back and just look at the pictures to see the lines, the shadows, the little things that make a picture great.
Back to the stories in this collection though. One of my favorites was Eric, which is about foreign exchange student. Eric does things a bit differently, for example, he sleeps in a teacup in the pantry but he is polite and asks a lot of questions. The drawings show Eric focusing on a stamp, a bottlecap and other random things. One day Eric leaves and his host family is unsure if Eric enjoyed his stay but when they go to the pantry they will learn just a little bit more about Eric and a bit more perhaps about appreciating the little things.
Another story that I really liked was Distant Rain which asks what happens to all the poems people write. If you’ve ever written a poem or tried to write one, then you will really like this. It talks about poems that are burnt, shredded or flushed away but on rare occasions some words will escape. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens to those escaped words and verses.
I really loved this book and hope you’ll add it to your stacks.
Source: Library copy
When I was looking for graphic novel recommendations this one kept coming up as one not to miss and I can see why!
I’ve heard a lot of raves about this graphic novel, so I’ll definitely look it up! Glad you enjoyed it, Iliana! 🙂
Totally want both the books NOW! 🙂
I think I have enough graphic novels on my list now to ensure I could do the challenge for about six years!
Another set of short stories to add to my list! These sound like the curl up and read kind 🙂
Oh this sounds great! My library has it but it’s checked out which is just as well since I have so many books out from the library at the moment. But I put it on my list so I will remember to request it once I get through some of my other books.
I really want to read this book. I have heard such great things about Shaun Tan’s work.
I’ve just read my first Tan the other day (The Red Tree) and it completely met my high expectations. This sounds wonderful too – must get my hands on it soon!
So glad you enjoyed this one! It was such a great book. The two stories you mentioned were two of my favourites as well.
I am so looking forward to experiencing Shaun Tan – so many provocative reviews.
I love this book! I think out of all Tan’s books, this one is my favorite. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you enjoyed it, I still havent read a graphic novel. But I can imagine wanting to make sure to give attention to both the words as well as the visuals while reading.
I won this from a drawing over at A High and Hidden Place, and I started re-reading it. I love love love Shaun Tan, and the illustrations in this one are just fantastic. Glad you liked it so!
I love everything I have ever read from Shaun Tan! So fantastic!
I am so glad you enjoyed it, it really is a lovely book. I am so impressed with Shaun Tan’s artistic and storytelling ability. I’m glad to see that he is more and more doing his own stuff as opposed to illustrating the work of others.