When I bought The Arrival by Shaun Tan, I was surprised to see that there were no words. After I finished “reading” the book, I was surprised to note how poignantly a story could be told solely through pictures. In fact, it may be the most effective method of communicating an idea. Where words can sometimes become awkward or complicate an idea, a picture succintly represents all the emotion in a single glance.

What struck me most about the pictures was that even though the images were of strange, unfamiliar things, they were still recognizable in some ways. For example, when the man the story revolves around is on the ship sailing to this new land, the city skyline and welcoming statue are reminiscent to that of New York, even if the particular buildings and said statue are not. Also, the building in which all the immigrants are gathered and examined looks very much like Ellis Island.

Furthermore, the story of immigration is a familiar one to all of us. In our collective histories, I’m sure every one of us has a story of someone they know, or maybe even themselves, who has gone through this frightening process of immigrating to a new country, for whatever reason. This fact serves to connect us together, much like it connects the characters featured in this book. This common thread unites them, and by the end of the book the man that the story revolves around is included in this community, and in turn helps newer immigrants also to find their way.