Tales From Outer Surburbia by Shaun Tan, 2008
Berättelser från yttre förorten
In one of the tales in this book we meet Eric, an exchange student who moves in with a family. They are happy to have a guest from a foreign country. Eric choses to sleep and study in the family’s pantry which baffles them. Why doesn´t he want to stay in the comfortable guest room? “It has to be something cultural” says Mom. “As long as he is happy”. The family doesn’t want to disturb Eric, so they store food and utensils in other places.
Eric is very curious and asks a lot of questions. But not the kind of questions that they anticipate.
Eric joins the family for special outings during the week because they want to show him the beautiful places in the city and in its surroundings.
Eric is mostly interested in tiny things that he finds on the ground.
And suddenly one early morning, Eric departs with a barely recognizable wave with his hand and a polite good bye. The family is puzzled: “Did he seem upset? Did he enjoy his stay with us? Will we ever hear from Eric again?”
For several hours after Eric left, the family is very concerned. Until one of them discovers something wonderful in the pantry.
This is what our foreign exchange student left for us!” The signs says “Thank you for a wonderful time”.
My comment:
When I read this story the first time, I became teary-eyed when I turned the page and beheld what the tiny foreign exchange student had made for his host family. It´s apparent that the family that Eric visits doesn’t quite understand him and his different ways of exploring his new environment. But they give him space and acknowledge that his different ways is just a cultural variation of behaviour. Their reward for accepting Eric transcends anything they could imagine. A very beautiful story!
Shaun Tan is a great storyteller and artist. Watch out for more tales from him.