{"id":2159,"date":"2009-09-15T05:03:29","date_gmt":"2009-09-15T13:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/?p=2159"},"modified":"2023-02-20T23:35:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T07:35:27","slug":"keep-going-keep-going-keep-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/?p=2159","title":{"rendered":"<q>Keep going!  Keep going!  Keep going!<\/q>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By way of <a href=\"http:\/\/gaal.livejournal.com\/229606.html\">an entry in Gaal's <abbr class=\"noshrink\" title=\"LiveJournal\">LJ<\/abbr><\/a>, I was led to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/books\/gallery\/2009\/may\/13\/shaun-tan-eric-story-pictures\"><q>Eric<\/q>, a story by Shaun Tan, as reproduced by <cite>the Guardian<\/cite><\/a>.  On the strength of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/books\/gallery\/2009\/may\/13\/shaun-tan-eric-story-pictures\">the story<\/a> and of what I read in reviews, I ordered three of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shauntan.net\/\">Tan<\/a>'s books: <ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=10886&isbn=0734410875&location=10000&state=CA\"><cite>The Red Tree<\/cite><\/a><\/li> <li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&state=CA&dispCurr=USD&type=ISBN&Submit=Click+to+Find&query=978-0439-89529-3&isbn=9781598899160\"><cite>The Arrival<\/cite><\/a><\/li> <li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&state=CA&dispCurr=USD&type=ISBN&Submit=Click+to+Find&query=978-0545-05587-1&isbn=9781840113136\"><cite>Tales from Outer Suburbia<\/cite><\/a><\/li><\/ul> And, after reading <cite>The Arrival<\/cite> and <cite>Tales from Outer Suburbia<\/cite> (<cite>The Red Tree<\/cite> came last), I ordered\r\n<ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&state=CA&dispCurr=USD&type=ISBN&query=+978-1598-89916-0\"><cite>The Haunted Playground<\/cite><\/a><\/li> <li><cite>The Lost Thing<\/cite><span style=\"vertical-align: top ; font-size: smaller ;\">&#91;1 (2023:02\/20)&#93;<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/p> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=10886&isbn=0734410875&location=10000&state=CA\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/redtree_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"289\" alt=\"[cover image of The Red Tree]\" style=\"float: left ; margin-top: .25em ; margin-right: .5em ;\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=10886&isbn=0734410875&location=10000&state=CA\"><cite>The Red Tree<\/cite> (2001)<\/a> doesn't tell a story.  It is a sequence of metaphors for depression, concluding with the expression of a principle of hope.  The focal character is a little red-headed girl, and the metaphors are written at a level that a depressive child should be able to understand.  I don't believe the particular message of hope, and so I very much doubt that I would offer this book to a depressed child.  But if one wants to offer the message that <span style=\"font-style: italic ;\">things will surely get better<\/span> to a despondent child, then this book might be an appropriate device.  Otherwise, adults can appreciate the quality of the pictures.<\/p> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&state=CA&dispCurr=USD&type=ISBN&Submit=Click+to+Find&query=978-0439-89529-3&isbn=9781598899160\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/arrival_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" alt=\"[cover image of The Arrival]\" style=\"float: right ; margin-top: .25em ; margin-left: .5em ;\" \/><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/emigrantes_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"309\" alt=\"[cover image of Emigrantes]\" style=\"float: right ; margin-top: .25em ; margin-left: .5em ;\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&state=CA&dispCurr=USD&type=ISBN&Submit=Click+to+Find&query=978-0439-89529-3&isbn=9781598899160\"><cite>The Arrival<\/cite> (2006)<\/a> is the most impressive of these five books, and one that I very strongly recommend for adults.  It is the tale of a stranger come to a strange land &mdash; so strange to him that he cannot read the local script.  To <em>communicate<\/em> that loss of <em>communication<\/em>, the story is told without words for the reader either; once past the title page, there are no words beyond the Roman numbering of chapters and whatever is said in that mysterious script.  I'd far rather that you experienced the story as it was designed, so I will resist the temptation to reveal more to you.  I will tell you that not only should this not be simply classified as a children's book, but that I think that a younger child should not go through this book for the first time without an adult beside him or her.<\/p>\r\n<p><abbr title=\"by the way\" style=\"font-size: smaller ;\">BTW<\/abbr>, you can get this virtually wordless book as translated into Spanish if you wish. (And, apparently, there was some concern that <q><span style=\"font-style: italic ;\">El Llegado<\/span><\/q> or somesuch would be too subtle a title.)<\/p> <div style=\"text-align: center ;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www3.addall.com\/New\/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&#038;id=19233&#038;isbn=1840113138&#038;location=10000&#038;thetime=20090915073720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/suburbia_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" alt=\"[cover image of Tales from Outer Suburbia]\" style=\"margin-top: .25em ;\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&#038;state=CA&#038;dispCurr=USD&#038;type=ISBN&#038;Submit=Click+to+Find&#038;query=978-0545-05587-1&#038;isbn=9781840113136\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/suburbia_am_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"295\" alt=\"[cover image of American edition of Tales from Outer Suburbia]\" style=\"margin-top: .25em ;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&#038;state=CA&#038;dispCurr=USD&#038;type=ISBN&#038;Submit=Click+to+Find&#038;query=978-0545-05587-1&#038;isbn=9781840113136\"><cite>Tales from Outer Suburbia<\/cite> (2008)<\/a> is a heavily illustrated anthology of short fiction &mdash; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/books\/gallery\/2009\/may\/13\/shaun-tan-eric-story-pictures\"><q>Eric<\/q><\/a> is taken from it &mdash; such that the styles of the illustrations vary with the stories.  The stories are not uniformly as marvelous as is <cite>The Arrival<\/cite>, but <cite>Outer Suburbia<\/cite> is still an outstanding book, which I again recommend.  In my opinion, the best of the stories is the very last, <q>night of the turtle rescue<\/q>; it is very short but very powerful.  Most of the stories are suitable for younger children, but it would concern me to have a younger child reading <q>stick figures<\/q> or <q>wake<\/q> on his or her own.<\/p> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&#038;state=CA&#038;dispCurr=USD&#038;type=ISBN&#038;query=+978-1598-89916-0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/playground_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"328\" alt=\"[cover image of The Haunted Playground]\" style=\"float: left ; margin-top: .25em ; margin-right: .5em ;\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/submitNew.cgi?location=10000&#038;state=CA&#038;dispCurr=USD&#038;type=ISBN&#038;query=+978-1598-89916-0\"><cite>The Haunted Playground<\/cite> (1998)<\/a> is essentially a ghost story for children reading at about third-grade level.  I&#8217;d guess that it&#8217;s about 11000 words, with about ten pen-and-ink interior illustrations by Tan. (The cover is by David Pulmbo.)<\/p> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/used.addall.com\/SuperRare\/RefineRare.cgi?inAuthor=Tan&#038;exAuthor=&#038;inTitle=Lost+Thing&#038;id=090915041328691992&#038;order=TITLE&#038;ordering=ASC&#038;dispCurr=USD&#038;match=Y\"><cite>The Lost Thing<\/cite> (2000)<\/a>, which arrived yester-day, seems to have slipped out-of-print since I ordered <span style=\"white-space: nowrap ;\">it.<span style=\"vertical-align: top ; font-size: smaller ;\">&#91;1&#93;<\/span><\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/used.addall.com\/SuperRare\/RefineRare.cgi?inAuthor=Tan&#038;exAuthor=&#038;inTitle=Lost+Thing&#038;id=090915041328691992&#038;order=TITLE&#038;ordering=ASC&#038;dispCurr=USD&#038;match=Y\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/lostthing_225.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" alt=\"[cover image of Tales from Outer Suburbia]\" style=\"float: right ; margin-top: .25em ; margin-left: .5em ;\" \/><\/a> In any case, is about the discovery of an enormous, lost creature by a boy, told from the perspective of that boy.  Not only do most people not recognize the creature&#8217;s condition of being lost; they don&#8217;t even recognize the existence of the creature (in spite of its size) until someone directs their attention to it.  When the boy does this with his parents, they can see it only long enough to insist that it be sent away.  Although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shauntan.net\/the-lost-thing-book\">Tan has provided some interpretation of the story at his website<\/a>, he actively resisted including any with the book itself.<\/p> <p>While I cannot as strongly recommend <cite>The Lost Thing<\/cite> as I do <cite>The Arrival<\/cite> or <cite>Tales from Outer Suburbia<\/cite>, it can be appreciated both by adults and by children.  And I don&#8217;t think that one need be right at the elbow of a younger child when he or she first reads it, as opposed to <cite>Arrival<\/cite> and to <cite>Outer Suburbia<\/cite>.  <cite>The Lost Thing<\/cite>, <abbr title=\"by the way\" style=\"font-size: smaller ;\">BTW<\/abbr>, is being made into <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kikA9pUAnWs\">a short, animated film<\/a>.<\/p> <hr width=\"50%\" align=\"left\" style=\"width: 50% ; text-align: left ; margin-left: 0; margin-right: auto ;\" \/> <p><span style=\"vertical-align: top ; font-size: smaller ;\">&#91;1 (2023:02\/20)&#93;<\/span> On 8 April 2010, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.addall.com\/New\/NewSearch.cgi?query=9780734411389&type=ISBN&location=10000&state=&dispCurr=USD&via=new\">a paperback edition of <cite>Lost Thing<\/cite><\/a> was released.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By way of an entry in Gaal's LJ, I was led to Eric, a story by Shaun Tan, as reproduced by the Guardian. On the strength of the story and of what I read in reviews, I ordered three of Tan's books: The Red Tree The Arrival Tales from Outer Suburbia And, after reading The [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,117,4],"tags":[304,481,549,703,702],"class_list":["post-2159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-communication","category-public","tag-books","tag-illustration","tag-reviews","tag-shaun-tan","tag-tan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2159"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12109,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159\/revisions\/12109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeconomist.com\/blogs\/daniel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}