Reviews
This was an interesting set of stories - some of them almost flash fiction - most of them fairy tale/magical realism in nature. They didn't grab me enough to be super memorable, but I enjoyed them and the wonderful illustrations as well.
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan is a collection of short stories about surreal happenings in a suburban neighborhood. The table of contents is done as a series of stamps with their values being the page number that the story starts on. It's only 96 pages and there are fifteen stories. That comes down to about four pages per story and mostly those pages are Shaun Tan's excellent illustrations. These pictures are done in a variety of styles and media. There's a story about making your own pet from boxes. Another involving backyard rockets. There's a yak who helps everyone find what they are missing. And so forth. The overall feel of the book is something along the lines of Thirteen by Remy Charlip and Jerry Joyner. The stories are all somewhat surreal, somewhat silly and, thought provoking.
This was much better than I was expecting. Should I ever have children, this is one of the books I will read with them. It has an open ended air that cultivates a worship of the mischievous, infinitely varied world we live in. The closest genre I can compare it to is Lovecraft's works of cosmic horror, where reality seems a thin veil for the fantastic and unimaginable. It deals with real psychological themes of abandonment, love in many forms, and the choices we make without thinking. Here lies no horror or demons, so maybe we'll call Tan's work a volume in cosmic joy.
Amazing. Tiny little stories that suck you in deeper than the most epic of novels.
So beautiful. this is one of the books that caught my eye straight from the library shelf. One that I knew nothing about, and now love.
Lovely collection of short graphic stories. Below is the detailed rating (the ones in bold are my favorites.) The water buffalo: 4.75 stars Eric: 5 stars Broken toys: 4 stars Distant rain: 4.5 stars Undertow: 3.5 stars Grandpa's story: 4 stars No other country: 4 stars Stick figures: 3 stars The nameless holiday: 3 stars The amnesia machine: 2 stars Alert but not armed: 3.75 stars Wake: 4.5 stars Make your own pet: 4.5 stars Our expedition: 3.25 stars Night of the turtle rescue: 3 stars.
