TALES FROM THE INNER CITY: THE JOY OF IMAGINING

Sometimes I think about the animals who live in my noisy, polluted, constantly illuminated city and what they make of humans and the other species they are compelled to live with.

One of my favourite places in the sprawling metropolis I live in, is my local park, a verdant harbourside haven of both tranquillity and activity where native, introduced and domesticated animals and humans encounter each other. I feel for big eyed possums too scared to leave their tree homes. I constantly encounter numerous and dazzling species of dogs that seem to be essential companions and a required adornment of inner city living.

Shaun Tan’s latest book TALES FROM THE INNER CITY is a collection of twenty five illustrated short stories. With great sensitivity, compassion and playfulness, Tan explores the relationships between humans and animals sharing inner city environments.

Tan’s beautiful prose, illustrations, soaring imagination, optimism and gentle humour takes us on a journey where we encounter animals and are offered an opportunity to consider an animal’s world from a reflective human perspective. I found all the stories in this book captivating and thought provoking. The illustrations are at times painfully beautiful, extending thoughts and feeling beyond what words can express.

Three stories I especially liked concerned pampered crocodiles, a deceased cat and some gloriously uninhibited giant snails.

Tan introduces us to a bask of crocodiles who live in hermetically sealed, reptilian executive luxury in a city building.  The crocodile executive suite has a striking view of the business district, an eternal loop of wetland muzak, is luxuriously furnished with mud and swamp grass and their nutritional needs are well catered for. The crocodiles lead a timeless pampered existence without the stresses that executive’s experience.

The lift button labelled Crocodile in the city building is assumed to be a business name. Humans who work on the floor above are unaware of their crocodilian neighbours. However, if the workers fall asleep at their desks, they have vivid and exhilarating dreams of being in a tropical wetland. Worker productivity has skyrocketed and hammocks have been installed to facilitate further dreaming and production. Throughout the story I found myself considering each species’ quality of life and the claims of other species and displaced persons on urban environments.

Tugboat, a large cat, had many homes and aliases. Tan invites us into the world of a lonely mother and her young daughter as they discover through the demise of Tugboat and the many lost cat posters plastered around town that their beloved cat had a rich secret life. The mother and daughter advise the other unknown owners of their beloved cats’ death and invite them to a memorial service. This celebration which is filled with conversation, laughter and sadness dissipates the mother’s aching loneliness. This story has a beautiful and very powerful illustration that perfectively captures how the reciprocal love between a mischievous cat and humans can heal and unify.

Tan’s giant snails are harbingers of tolerance. The snails arrived a hundred years ago and were initially perceived as unholy and unnatural due to their gloriously uninhibited behaviour. Through their dignity, grace, pride and the passage of time, the city has learned to respect and value these creatures. Embedded in the story is a gentle challenge to narrow notions of love and the hope that the passage of time can bring about greater respect.

TALES FROM THE INNER CITY is a multi-levelled book and is recommended for people ten years and older. For younger readers the book provides beautiful illustrations and an optimistic opportunity to think about the world of animals and how we treat them. The book and illustrations are ideal for sharing with a child or young adult and will open up opportunities for laughter and discussion.

Older readers can engage in a deeper reading, relish the beautiful illustrations, rediscover the joy of imagining, consider our speciest assumptions and rise to the challenge to live courageously in the present. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

TALES FROM THE INNER CITY from Shaun Tan is published in Australia by Allen and Unwin.

Shaun Tan
Photo: Mike Baker