Eric

If I haven’t convinced you to read Shaun Tan yet, try dipping your toes in the water with this cute new edition of Eric, one of the stories published in Tales From Outer Suburbia. It’s cheap and it’s beautiful.

Usually, I'd link you to fishpond, but this time it's actually cheaper at Angus & Robertson.

More on Shaun Tan

I'm still loving Shaun Tan's Tales From Outer Suburbia.


One of the stories in the collection, 'Eric' is available for viewing here. It's not the same experience as seeing it on the page, though. I post it in the hope that you, too, will go on to experience the wonder of the hard copy!


An interview of Shaun Tan, a great introduction to this excellent artist, can be found here.


I have heard Tan give a lecture before, and loved hearing his insights on the creative process and the nature of fiction. "All fiction is false," he reminds us, "what makes it convincing is that it runs alongside the truth."

Tales From Outer Suburbia

I have finally got round to buying Shaun Tan's Tales From Outer Suburbia, and it is a gorgeous book! As always, Shaun Tan's artwork is incredible! The book is a collection of short stories, all written and illustrated by Tan.

I have been a fan of Tan for some years. His illustrations make brilliant use of fantastical elements, showing the strangeness and absurdity of objects and places that we have come to think of as ordinary. In this book, Tan proves that he's a great writer too.

My favourite story so far is 'Distant Rain', which begins: "Have you ever wondered what happens to all the poems people write? The poems they never let anyone else read?"