Hendrix reviews "Hometown" by Shaun Tan in The New York Times

Professor John Hendrix, chair of the MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture program, reviews Shaun Tan’s stand-alone follow-up to “The Arrival.”

“It has been 20 years since Shaun Tan published his astonishing wordless graphic novel “The Arrival.” Equal parts atmospheric immigration allegory and surreal ride on a chiaroscuro carousel, the book instantly became a classic. Dauntless and strange, it shimmered like a new kind of myth — one whose primary language was not textual but visual.”

“When a modern mind reads the word “myth,” it might be tempted to substitute the word “falsehood.” Sadly, this is part of our hangover from the Enlightenment. It seems natural to us to assume that the best way to understand a rose is by putting it under a microscope — rather than by writing (or reading) a sonnet. But as Tan reminds us with his new opus, “Hometown,” some truths are so enormous, so beautiful, so elusive they can be told only through myth.”

To read the complete review, visit nytimes.com.