Get lost in a picture book (The Lost Thing - Shaun Tan)

Member Name: nevikrose

Product:	The Lost Thing - Shaun Tan
Date:	10/12/07 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully drawn, strong, thought provoking messages, a good medium for 'art'

Disadvantages: I cant think of any, this book exetutes its purpose, very well

I am a huge advocate of picture books for the older reader. The are a fantastic medium for conveying emotion and meaning without resorting to language, they double as a great showcase for some extremely talented artists.

One author i particually admire is Shaun Tan, who writes well for this genre. He has an amazing sense of style, and can tell a story of a thousand words in one painting. He is an artist of many canvases and every one of his books has a different message, and a different atmosphere.

The Lost Thing is the story of a man who finds an enormous lost thing on a beach, he doesn't know what to do with it, as it doesn't seem to fit anywhere and no one seems to know anything about it. He nearly hands it in at a government agency, but instead takes the advice of a mysterious janitor, who tells him to follow a sign.

The world this book is set in is verging on dystopic, it seems healthy at first glance, but when you realise that the paintings very carefully depict conformity and blandness it becomes a little less comfortable.

There is not much text in the book, broken in to very small chunks in the main story.
Language is however, used in the framing very cleverely, surrounding the main story images with newspaper clippings. It is technical, excerpts from manuals and suchlike, adverts for mechanical products, some of which are quite funny. This book is richly drawn and there is something to see on every last millimetre of paper
There is a sense of discovery here, there is an awful lot to read, if you take the time. It has the feel of the classified section of a newspaper, and it solidifies the world the story is set in, giving a sense that nothing is natural or organic.

The illustrations are extremely clever in this great example of a picture book for older children or adults. There is a feeling of claustrophobia in this steam punk, environment. Because there is nothing natural left, even the sky is a dirty green colour. Since the world is not too far from our own, it seems to indicate perhaps we too will eventually lose nature. (there is a lovely scene in the boy's living room, on the mantle there is a flowerpot which has metal flowers in it)

There is an intense message in this book, about conformity and beaurocracy, but it trusts its reader to explore it on their own. Children who can cope with politically complicated messages like these should glean a great deal of satisfaction from this, as there is nothing patronising or condescending about its structure. Readers are free to take away what they want from the book. Adults will certainly sense the political job aimed at red tape...

I found reading this book a very uplifting experience, primarily because it managed to evoke very complex emotions. I was surprised and pleased that a picture book had elicited that sort of response. The message is not a cheery one however, the man finding a place for the lost thing among all the other hidden misfits slowly begins to conform himself in later life and forgets to find the mystery in things. I found it a social warning.

The book may be being made into an animated film
http://www.thelostthing.com/
and it was made into a puppet play.

Anyone interested may find it helpful to visit Shaun Tan's website, as that showcases a lot of his artwork, including some from this and other picture books. and photos of the incredible puppets from the stage adaptation.
http://www.shauntan.net/

****** mini review *****
http://www.mirroroftheworld.com.au/imagination/be gins/the_lost_thing.php
This is an interactive site run by the state library of Voctoria, Australia.
You have the chance to view pages of the book using a brower based interaction.

I would say it is a great way to see what the book looks like, but since you dont seem to be able to zoom the whole page, but rather acts more like a magnifying glass, you will be missing a lot, and the site does not contain the whole book. In that respect I would say this website provides a sort or interactive trailer for the book.

It is a good example of how literature and art can be brought into the 21st century, the information age.
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Summary: I would reccomend Shaun Tan's work to anyone not familiar with Picture Books for the older reader