I have started reading Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan, and it is absolutely brilliant. Tan is an amazing artist and also a fantastic storyteller.
The book is a picture book, but most definitely not for children. This is not because of anything inappropriate in the book, and I guess some of the stories in the book could be read on a simpler level, but the stories really do have so much more to them than just a simple story. They are about life in the suburbs of a city, but have remarkably strange twists in them. They deal with issues such as family, friendship, growing up (and the loss of innocence that comes with that) and so much more.
Some of the stories are hard to understand and some of them are more observations on life, but the ones that I have read so far are beautiful and haunting.
I'm just going to go finish it now, then review it, and then I'll get started on my next book, Looking for Alaska by John Green, which I bought at the shops this morning. I can't wait to read it!!
oh my gosh!! tales of outer suburbia is so brilliant, i went and saw shaun tan when that book was released and git it signed!!! he's totally my favourite picture book writer (although i agree that this one is not so much of a picture book) he's so cleaver, i particularly like the one about the man who abused his dog. it was so sad.
ReplyDeleteOMG i love the artwork in his picture books!
ReplyDeleteheard of "1984" by George Orwell?
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite books. I found it extremely hard to put down. Hah. The hours of sleep I lost over that book!! Maybe you should read it. I'd love to hear what you think of it.
Good luck with all those books!