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Tales from the Inner City
Tales from the Inner City | Shaun Tan
23 posts | 16 read | 15 to read
A unique and beautiful book for kids and adults that combines short stories and poetry with surrealist art -- a return to the form that made Shaun Tan a visionary in the world of graphic novels. A young girl's cat brightens the lives of everyone in the neighborhood. A woman and her dog are separated by time and space, awaiting the day they will be reunited. A race of fish build a society parallel to our own. And a bunch of office managers suddenly turn into frogs, but find that their new lives aren't so bad. The ambitious, unique and provocative Tales From the Inner City draws on the success of Shaun Tan's The Arrival and Tales From Outer Suburbia and updates its sensibilities for a new generation. Combining his poignant and sensitive short stories with surreal, luminous paintings, Tan turns his astute lens on the environment, cities, family and the relationships between human and animals. This work opens a portal to the imagination and captures the beauty, joy and tragedy in the everyday lives of kids, teens and adults.
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review
booklover3258
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Pickpick

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/UlbZA5yLBJc

Enjoy!

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emtobiasz
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“But here is the real problem. Most people — even those who have read all the literature, who know the facts, who agree with the facts — will refuse to wear a mask on the back of their heads. Even when it could save their lives!”

Copyright date of this book, and its magical realism stories, is 2018. 😷

Reggie I just watched the movie Contagion for the first time this past Friday night and was shocked how close it was. It missed the anti vaxxers but got the whole medicines being promoted that have no effect on the virus right. 3y
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ju.ca.no
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This year is off to a bad start regarding my bookbuying ban. I‘ve already bought 3 books and preordered two more, and it‘s only the 7th day of the year😂😂

Clwojick 😳😍🥰your kitten‘s so tiny! I want sleepy kitty snuggles! We got both of our boys at 7mths so we missed the tiny stage. They‘re huge now at 15 lbs each lol (edited) 4y
ju.ca.no @Clwojick wow😅 we got ours with 12 weeks, and they are 14 weeks now- but already growing SO much😱 but kitten snuggles are the best at any cat age and size😍 4y
AlaMich Do they sleep with you? You probably don‘t get much sleep if they do. 😻😻 4y
ju.ca.no @AlaMich some nights they do! They already take up quite a lot of space though😅😅 4y
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GatheringBooks
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OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚👍🏻 4y
46 likes1 comment
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AnneCecilie
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Pickpick

Wow, this book, and its illustrations are absolutely fantastic.

I loved these stories centered around humans and our relationship with nature and animals.
The illustrations add to the stories beings told.

I‘ve read some of Tan‘s previous work, and will read more in the future.

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AnneCecilie
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#WeeklyForcast

📚 Just 2 chapters left in HP for #PotterADay
📚 Then I want to read the tagged book before work like HP
📚 Read The Hoarder - my #triplespin book
📚 Start Drive Your Plow

🎧 Continue the fifth Department Q book
🎧 Finish Lowborn

Cinfhen Lookin good 😍 5y
Linsy Love Shaun Tan! ❤ (edited) 5y
57 likes2 comments
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GatheringBooks
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Pickpick

#AcrossApril Day 15: The central theme of this collection has to do with humans & animals – their interconnectedness & transmogrifications. One of my favourites includes the story featuring the many lifetimes of dogs & their human companions, their continual births and #rebirth, & how they find each other again & again regardless, despite the earth‘s evolutions. My review of this illuminated collection of haunting tales: https://wp.me/pDlzr-lI1

Eggs You share such beautiful books 👏🏻👏🏻 5y
52 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
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Perfect weekend read while at our beachfront resort here in Abu Dhabi. Powdery fine sand and exquisite view. Couldn‘t think of a better backdrop to this heavy tome of an illustrated book.

Crazeedi Lovely peaceful view 5y
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Lindy
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Pickpick

“One afternoon the members of the board all turned into frogs.” The premise behind each piece of short fiction or poetry in this collection is highly imaginative, but they evoke haunting emotions and reflections on the relationships between humans and other animals in urban environments. Shaun Tan‘s surreal illustrations add to the power. #AllAges #OzFiction #poetry

Annl You always find the most interesting books and as a result my tbr list is growing! Thanks and 🤪 5y
Lindy @Annl 😇 5y
erzascarletbookgasm Agree with @Annl ! 🙂 5y
Lindy @erzascarletbookgasm Litsy is a great platform for spreading the word. 😊 5y
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Lindy
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The rhino was on the freeway again.
We blew our horns in outrage!
Men came, shot it dead, pushed it to one side.
We blew our horns in gratitude!

But that was yesterday.
Today we all feel terrible.
Nobody knew it was the last rhino.
How could we have known it was the last one?

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Lindy
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People who don‘t live with parrots always ask the same question of those who do: Can your parrot talk? That‘s because humans love talking. From the cradle to the grave our lives are measured, trimmed, emboldened by words, and to hear an animal speak them back to us is nothing short of pure delight.

Cathythoughts Wow ✨✨✨✨✨ 5y
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Thndrstd
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Pickpick

A collection of short stories in which animals and their interactions with people in cities play a vital role, each story punctuated by a piece of Tan's gorgeous surreal art. The stories challenge our perceptions of reality and our place in the natural order. Beautiful and brilliant. Highly recommended

Bradleygirl I loved this too- it was so much more than I'd imagine it would be. Tan's art is a great gift 5y
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Gillyreads
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Just passed hour 7 and finished book 4. On to my third cup of tea. #24in48

Megabooks 👍🏻👍🏻🥳🥳📚 5y
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Gillyreads
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Today I prepped my #24in48tbr pile 📚 ready for next weekend 😊

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mreads
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#picturebook for adults! Beautiful paintings by Tan accompanied by delightful fantasy short stories. 5⭐

#30JuneBooks @howjessreads

AnneCecilie I just bought this. I‘m really looking forward to his drawings 5y
mreads @AnneCecilie they're beautiful, he also won an oscar for animated short film, you can find it on YouTube 5y
AnneCecilie @mreads I had no idea he had won an Oscar. Do you have the name for the movie or can I just search on his name? 5y
mreads @AnneCecilie it's call the lost thing 5y
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AnneCecilie
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I stopped by the bookstore today - the sun was shining and I was in a good mood. So this happened.

“Cassandra at the Wedding” was voted May‘s read for #NYRBBookClub, so I put in a hold at the library. The book showed up in June, and I‘ve it unread among my library books. Then I saw this today and I couldn‘t resist.

I‘ve been eyeing the tagged book for months.

I know, I‘m hopeless and have no willpower 😩🤦‍♀️

BarbaraBB You were right to buy Cassandra! 5y
Velvetfur It's perfectly fine to have no willpower when it comes to books - they're not something that can harm you like cigarettes or alcohol! Books are good for you 👍😁 5y
mreads The tagged book is wonderful. 5y
See All 8 Comments
Kalalalatja I didn‘t even know the tagged book existed, so thank you! 🙌 5y
AnneCecilie @BarbaraBB Good to know. I saw all the raving reviews. Everyone seemed to love it. 5y
AnneCecilie @Velvetfur I couldn‘t agree with you more 😊 5y
merelybookish Cool cover on Cassandra! 5y
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LRSmith
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“Nothing shrinks the imagination like a waiting room, and the lift is nothing if not the smallest of waiting rooms.“ Tan‘s humanity and vision of this world (with all its inhabitants) always gives me something to ponder. The book starts out with crocodiles in skyscrapers and goes from there. I love the journeys he takes us on.

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mreads
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Pickpick

Collection of fantasy short stories, each accompanied by the author's painting(s). The stories are about the relationships between animals and humans. There are butterfly clouds, lovemaking snails, Russian doll sharks and the souls of horses running the streets.
Tan also won an Oscar for best short in 2011 for Lost Things, you can watch it on YouTube.

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JAMZ
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Pickpick

I read Shaun Tan to experience a particular feeling, a weighty floatiness that I can‘t quite pin down. It‘s like some huge realization is lurking right behind you and you‘re almost there, but not quite. That is what reading this book feels like, and like all his other work, this too is extraordinary.

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MarriedtoMrT
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Gorgeous art (I wanted more!) and beautiful writing. Some stories warmed my heart. Others were a punch in the gut. And yet others I really didn‘t understand. Still, I will be thinking on some for a long time.

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lauralovesbooks1
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Pickpick

Tales From The Inner City is a surreal collection of short stories about the relationships between animals and humans. Some were a little too surreal for me, but even then, the writing was beautiful. The artwork in here is spectacular.

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Lizpixie
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#BookMail Pt6 This is a gorgeously illustrated, mostly picture book from Shaun Tan, one of Australia‘s best children‘s books artist. He‘s also won an Academy Award(Oscar)for his 2011 animated film The Lost Thing, which was adapted from a book he wrote & illustrated. This is a signed copy as well! When I get to it on my #TBRofdoom I‘ll post some photos of some of the beautiful drawings/paintings inside of animals in an urban setting.

youneverarrived Gorgeous cover 🧡 6y
Thndrstd I love Shaun Tan but I hadn‘t heard about this one. Thanks for pointing it out. 6y
Lizpixie @youneverarrived you should see the pictures inside, they‘re gorgeous! @Thndrstd no problem, it‘s actually a companion book to 6y
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GatheringBooks
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Congratulations, @MrsMalaprop for your milestone and thank you for this awesome #OzFictionGiveaway - I think I own practically all of Shaun Tan‘s titles so I am deeply excited about his two new books coming out this year, including tagged book. Practically all my fave children‘s book creators are from Australia: Armin Greder, Margaret Wild, Ron Brooks, Libby Gleeson, John Marsden, Matt Ottley - among many others!

MrsMalaprop Fantastic! Thanks for entering 😁. 7y
60 likes1 comment