Cover of Tales From Outer Suburbia
On one of our recent family treks to half-price books, I stumbled upon Shaun Tan‘s Tales From Outer Suburbia. This was one of those where both my wife and I were interested. She more for the illustrations and me for the short vignettes but both of us were intrigued by the combination.
I was vaguely aware of Tan but hadn’t read of owned any of his previous works. But the cover art and a peak inside pulled me in.
I was not disappointed. The book is full of mystery and whimsy; of foreboding and tragedy; of strangeness but joy as well. There is a unique combination of minimalism and depth to both the art work and the stories.
What works about these stories is what I find interesting about short stories, even though it is not my preferred format, they contain a depth that hints at “more” behind the story and yet they seem to capture just the right amount of the story on the page. They let the reader imagine what is off the page in a way that is thought provoking and satisfying somehow.
