When I first started reading Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, I found myself completely lost at times. The narrative was fairly straightforward, but the absence of text and the foreign sights really threw me off a bit as I tried to follow the story. I tried to find symbolism in certain objects, and there were some where I certainly did, but at times I felt hung up on things that I didn’t understand.

But then I realized something. That was the point. The story was one of immigration; being thrown into a world you know little to nothing about and trying to understand as you go along. There were no words because when you’re an immigrant in a new country, you don’t know any words. As an immigrant, you start Tabula rasa: a mind inexperienced to the new culture; a blank slate. You have no common ground other than your humanity and needs. Once I learned to sit back and accept that I wasn’t going to understand everything right away, the story became much more enjoyable.

I soon realized that Tan’s story was just so universally relatable; it pushed past cultural boundaries. No one reader –or, rather, onlooker– really had more of an understanding than the other, because every onlooker, no matter what their ethnicity, started from that same blank slate. As an onlooker, you were learning as the main character was learning. It created a whole new level of investment for the audience as brought us one level closer to the story, and that’s what was so great about it.

From children to adults, immigrants to natives, The Arrival brings a universally accessible story that is applicable to anyone who has felt like they’ve entered a new world. Which, as a college freshman, feels pretty familiar; you might have an idea of what you’re getting yourself into, but you can never comprehend the full picture until you’re immersed.

-Jon Farrell