Tales From Outer Suburbia

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This is Eric, the foreign exchange student interested in everyday things others don't pay much attention to.

Shaun Tan Picture Book Analysis | SLAP HAPPY LARRY Eric by Shaun Tan Picture Book Analysis | SLAP HAPPY LARRY

Shaun Tan (born 1974) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for The Lost Thing, a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated include The Red Tree and The Arrival.Chris Van Allsburg’s picture books work in a similar way: Postmodern and Surreal, they appeal to adult and children alike. As in many children’s picture books, this buffalo could be real within the world of the story, or it could be a figment of the girl’s imagination. The main character is a strange creature who comes from another place/time/dimension, who disappears before the end.

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan, Hardcover | Barnes Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan, Hardcover | Barnes

Eric’ was originally a name written underneath a pointy-headed character carrying a tiny suitcase, drawn in a sketchbook while on holiday. I often draw characters and give them ordinary names like ‘Bob’, ‘Dave’ or ‘Alan’ (which I find very entertaining for some reason), but this ‘Eric’ seemed especially amusing and believable. I wondered what his story might be. The word would appear to be pronounced ‘ youtou‘ (going with the kan-on reading) or ‘ yuutou‘ (going with the go-on reading). Youtou would be homophonous with ‘magical sword’. The second character is common and definitely means ‘sword’. (You may even be familiar with the loanword, borrowed into English: ‘katana’, referring to a Japanese single-edged sword.) She is looking forward to teaching an exchange student everything about her local environs. This will make her feel like an expert. She will feel heard. She will feel important and useful. OPPONENT

The house at number seventeen was only ever mentioned with lowered voices by the neighbours. They knew well the frequent sounds of shouting, slamming doors and crashing objects. But one sultry summer night, something else happened, something far more interesting: the appearance of a large marine animal on the front lawn.” a current of water below the surface and moving in a different direction from any surface current. “I was swept away by the undertow.” I might have found this a little exasperating, but I kept thinking about what Mum had said, about the cultural thing. Then I didn’t mind so much.