Aug 24, 2006

The Red Tree.

Hello! This is a quick post to tell you about my very favorite book The Red Tree by Shaun Tan. His description of this beautiful book is equally enthralling, "At the beginning she awakes to find blackened leaves falling from her bedroom ceiling, threatening to quietly overwhelm her. She wanders down a street, overshadowed by a huge fish that floats above her. She imagines herself trapped in a bottle washed up on a forgotten shore, or lost in a strange landscape. She's caught in a tiny boat between towering ships about to collide, then suddenly she's on stage before a mysterious audience, not knowing what to do. Just as all hope seems lost, the girl returns to her bedroom and finds a tiny red seedling growing in the middle of the floor. It quickly grows into a vivid red tree that fills her room with warm light."

I also cherish Shaun's final thought about the book, stating that "... everyone’s experience of ‘suffering’ or ‘hope’ is unique and personal." I hope you find it as inspiring as I have. xox=vv.

Shaun Tan's wonderful site.
The Red Tree at Shaun Tan's site
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The Red Tree at Amazon.com
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4 comments:

kirsty said...

I'm a Shaun Tan fan, too! He has such a depth of emotion in his work. The first time I saw one of his books in a bookstore, I stood in the shop reading it and crying.

Kuky said...

The imagery he weaves with his description is so powerful. Thank you for sharing. I will have to put him on my to read list.

bugheart said...

my brother
gave me
that book
as a present
during
a rough spot
for me...
so perfect...
i love that book!

christine ann haynes said...

Oh Kirsty what a touching synopsis of your first encounter with Shaun Tan. Thank you so much for sharing it with me! His work really seems to convey emotion beautifully (just like you do).

Darling Korallin I am so extremely glad that I could share ... Oooh wait, more on that later *hugs*

Miss Heart I can not imagine a more beautiful gift from your brother. To me it feels like the gift of hope in physical form. Thank you so much for sharing this with me.

I appreciate the book in an entirely new way thanks to you all! Hugs! xox=vv.