Graphically different

How does one qualify Shaun Tan's book, Tales from Outer Suburbia? I could call it a graphic novel, since it so often intersperses text with words. But much like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I'm inclined to call this one simply a very sophisticated picture book. If you read it to your kids, there wouldn't be as many pictures for them to look at... but the ones there are so powerful and beautiful that they'll stick with 'em.

I guess I'm most happy to see that this isn't Tan's only work. His credit for The Arrival, another graphic novel / picture book, is touted all over this one. I'll seek it out, but the publishers aren't giving Tan enough credit here. This is a book that more than stands up on its own.

It's not a book. It's a passport. Tan presents us with fifteen short stories -- some of them more situation then story, much like the great Louis Borges. The surreality of any story is provided in varying qualities either by the art, the writing, or both. A lot of them start out ordinary -- why does the map end at #168, for example? Why is the foreign exchange student so strange? These quickly transition to delightful weirdness, though.

I'd rather not spoil much of this book, because it is a marvel. Every single vignette, or nearly, is thought-provoking or heartwarming or both. Tan occasionally delves into the world of politics; these are hit-and-miss, but never bad.

Should I have to choose, my absolute favorites were "Wake", the opening story "The Water Buffalo", and the standout "Distant Rain". Really, though, everyone will find many things to like and some things to love about this book. I will be lending it to friends in the coming weeks-- ask me if you would like to borrow it. And if you don't know me, seek this out. It's unlike anything else you'll read this year.