Reviews - The Red Tree | The StoryGraph

135 reviews for:

A very powerful story about the isolating effect of depression. Tan shows how overwhelming, loud and disorientating the world can be when you have lost who you are and where your place is. I felt that there were quite strong connections between this story and 'The Arrival', whereby 'The Red Tree' continues with that sense of alienation, but this time with a slightly clinical twist of having no one else to turn to. It is small signs that can help the protagonist gain back a sense of identity and provides them with the hope to carry on. This is not necessarily a quick fix, but a small step of progress.
Tan uses such vivid illustrations that border on the surreal, again adding to the real lack of connection that depression brings to the sufferer.
I wonder whether discussions of time would be relevant here, in terms of the time period that the story covers. Is it really days and days of suffering, or is this the illness distorting the character's grip on time?

kenoreg's review against another edition

3.0

Why can't I be as talented as Shaun Tan! GAAAAH. Artwork is amazing, story is alright. I liked the Arrival more.

bookishheather's review against another edition

5.0

Today's guest speaker for my editing class was a children's book editor. We did some exercises with various children's books in small groups, and my group got The Red Tree out of sheer luck. Almost as soon as I laid eyes on the cover, I was sucked in and spent several minutes absorbing it from cover to cover. It resonated with me deeply, from the sophisticated art to the tackling of a complex and lesser-acknowledged phenomenon: childhood depression. My adult self identified equally with the feelings given voice in the art, but I can't help but wonder...what if I had read this book at nine years old? The mind boggles.