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A review by kindredbooks
Eric by Shaun Tan
5.0
I received an e-galley of this book from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Eric by Shaun Tan is a story that makes you look closely at the pictures and think about what’s really happening. I think the way it started was already a great indication of perspective - the young narrator’s view of Eric, the foreign exchange student, is quite foreign indeed. Appearing to be quite small and more creature than human, Eric quickly assimilates when the host family is unable to pronounce his name, allowing them to call him Eric. Little microagressions occur throughout the book as Eric stays with the family for awhile and disappears without a word. The family is unable to understand this but when they stumble upon what Eric left for them, they are able to perhaps truly understand how it may have been a “cultural thing” that they probably could have tried harder to embrace.
Truly thought provoking and beautiful in its simplicity. Shaun Tan is a visual storyteller that I’m more curious about. I understand that Eric is one of many stories to appear in Shaun Tan’s collection and I will definitely be looking into that.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the book.
Eric by Shaun Tan is a story that makes you look closely at the pictures and think about what’s really happening. I think the way it started was already a great indication of perspective - the young narrator’s view of Eric, the foreign exchange student, is quite foreign indeed. Appearing to be quite small and more creature than human, Eric quickly assimilates when the host family is unable to pronounce his name, allowing them to call him Eric. Little microagressions occur throughout the book as Eric stays with the family for awhile and disappears without a word. The family is unable to understand this but when they stumble upon what Eric left for them, they are able to perhaps truly understand how it may have been a “cultural thing” that they probably could have tried harder to embrace.
Truly thought provoking and beautiful in its simplicity. Shaun Tan is a visual storyteller that I’m more curious about. I understand that Eric is one of many stories to appear in Shaun Tan’s collection and I will definitely be looking into that.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the book.