Review by Sheila Ngoc Pham

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The Red Tree by Shaun Tan is categorised as a picture book, yet it’s far from being a typical children’s book in any way. There’s no particular narrative structure; it is, instead, a deep-dive exploration into emotion and metaphor. Tan depicts a surreal and retrofuturistic world, one of darkness rather than brightness, of shadows rather than light…or so it seems. The world of The Red Tree is a place of aching and awe-inspiring beauty both foreign and familiar. The recognisable elements of our own world—streetscapes, seascapes, skyscapes—are seen through completely different eyes.