The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Though this is a graphic novel with no words, I had to go through it several times.  As the saying goes, a picture is worth 1000 words.  Well, there are a lot of pictures to go through and examine and each time going through, I found something new.  As the title suggests, the story follows a man leaving his home, wife and daughter in search of a better place to eventually bring them to.  The book takes the reader through the man's experience step-by-step, frame-by-frame and reveals the difficulty and scariness in finding a home, a job and eventually finding comfort in his surroundings through the people he meets and interactions they share. 
The cover of the book is representative of a photo album of sorts.  The man on the cover shows his life in a suitcase as he stares inquisitively at an animal of sorts.  It is evident throughout the book that there are a lot of new and unknown things the man encounters, one is the animal-like character on the cover.  There are a lot of symbols that seem to look like they could be words, but really do not have meaning to the reader or the protagonist.  This book really depicts how confusing, scary and 'foreign', if you will, a new world is for an immigrant.  Oh, it is also very important to note that the inside front and back cover show "mug-shots" of what looks like immigrants entering a new land. Their faces are emotionless and almost blank.  The images of their faces are very powerful.  I can't help but imagine what they have endured and how much they have sacrificed to get to this point and then have that earthy, raw reality snapped in the form of a photo and documented in history!
Unfortunately, I believe people forget how difficult life can be and the sacrifices one makes to provide a better life for themselves and their family.  The incredible strength humans have and the courage that it takes to overcome adversity and uproot everything known to them, in hopes of something better, is quite magical and brave.  Shaun Tan knew that the best way to portray this kind of courage and strength could only be captured in a photo...or several of them.