Review by Douglas Marks
1. Title: Cicadaby Shaun Tan, ISBN 978-1-338-29839-0, Arthur A. Levine Books, New York, 2019, $19.99, 30 pp.
2. Genre: Picture book
3. Characters: This book basically only has one character, an anthropomorphized cicada. The cicada wears a business suit, fitted with an extra pair of sleeves for his second set of “arms”, and works in an office full of humans that bully him. He simply refers to himself in third person as “cicada” throughout the book. The cicada is a very lonely and sad character who is totally ostracized by the humans in his office and in society in general. Although it is a short book, the cicada does change in the end via a metamorphosis that is both metaphorical and literal. Other minor characters include the cicada’s colleagues who beat him up for being different, the company’s HR representative who tells the cicada that human resources are for humans, not for cicadas, and the cicada’s boss, who simply tells the cicada to pack up his desk when the cicada retires.
4. Plot: In this relatively short picture book, the cicada describes his life working in an office in which he is the only cicada—all others are human. The cicada works harder than the other humans, works longer than the other humans, and never makes mistakes. Not only is the cicada never thanked for his hard work, but he is also shunned and abused by his fellow office workers. He is even forced to walk 12 blocks to use the restroom because the company does not allow him to use the one at the office, and the company docks his pay for the time spent traveling to the restroom and back. The cicada works for 17 years under these conditions, which is interesting because 17 years is the amount of time some species of cicada will spend underground in its nymph stage as it feeds on the sap from tree roots. After the 17 years, the cicada “retires” and is told to clean out his desk. With no money, no home, and no work to do, the cicada heads to the roof of the office building in what the reader is meant to think might be an attempt at suicide. Instead, the cicada molts out of his nymph-style body and flies off into the sunset with other cicadas to enjoy the rest of his days.
5. Themes: This book, although short, is quite rich and profound in the themes that it displays. The two most obvious themes, which overlap with each other quite a bit, are immigration and racism. The idea of a cicada being the only (or at least one of very few) one of its kind in a society of others seems to allude deeply to commonly told immigrant stories. The way that the cicada is treated in the book reflects the sad nature of how immigrants or foreign workers are often treated, particularly in more homogeneous societies. The author, Shaun Tan, is an Australian man with Chinese ancestry, and so Cicadamay be a vehicle for him to tell the story of himself or his family or other people from his life with similar experiences. Closely tied in with the xenophobia often felt towards immigrants is the theme of racism. Obviously a cicada looks pretty different from a human, and so the author seems to use this as a metaphor to show how people often treat those who are very different. In the end the cicada seems to overcome the awful experiences of his life with the humans, and he is even able to find solace in being with other cicadas who can relate to his experience.
6. Style: The book is seemingly written in a “haiku-esque” format, and the last page even ends the story with a famous haiku about cicadas. Although the lines don’t perfectly follow a 5-7-5 syllable sequence, each page is three lines that manage to say quite a bit with very few words. The book is written in broken English that one might expect to hear from a non-native speaker, particularly one of east Asian decent.
7. Touchy Areas: While the themes of racism, immigration, xenophobia, etc. might be a little touchy for some readers, Cicadapresents these themes in a way in which no one society is being criticized. Most likely the cicada represents an eastern immigrant to a western society, but goes no further than that. The rest is extrapolated by the audience itself. The book does not have profanity, serious violence, or any more “adult themes”, and probably would be suitable for children as young as 7 or 8, even if they do not fully comprehend the themes.
8. Related Titles: The Arrivalby Shaun Tan, The Grapes of Wrathby John Steinbeck
9. Evaluation: To me, this short book is very profound in its overall metaphor of how it shows the life of an immigrant through the body of a cicada. Those in my family who came to America a couple generations ago have stories with similar features. I also think it is very easy to relate to this book, particularly if a person is an immigrant or has close relationships with immigrants (or if a person simply experiences empathy). When I lived in China for four years, there were definitely times when I was looked down on or treated unfairly by my boss and colleagues, although circumstances most likely make my experience easier in many ways, particularly in that I always had a choice to return to my home country at any time. Overall, I think this is an excellent book with many layers to its depth, and I think it could be enjoyed by readers of almost any age. I give it a 10/10.
1. Title: Cicadaby Shaun Tan, ISBN 978-1-338-29839-0, Arthur A. Levine Books, New York, 2019, $19.99, 30 pp.
2. Genre: Picture book
3. Characters: This book basically only has one character, an anthropomorphized cicada. The cicada wears a business suit, fitted with an extra pair of sleeves for his second set of “arms”, and works in an office full of humans that bully him. He simply refers to himself in third person as “cicada” throughout the book. The cicada is a very lonely and sad character who is totally ostracized by the humans in his office and in society in general. Although it is a short book, the cicada does change in the end via a metamorphosis that is both metaphorical and literal. Other minor characters include the cicada’s colleagues who beat him up for being different, the company’s HR representative who tells the cicada that human resources are for humans, not for cicadas, and the cicada’s boss, who simply tells the cicada to pack up his desk when the cicada retires.
4. Plot: In this relatively short picture book, the cicada describes his life working in an office in which he is the only cicada—all others are human. The cicada works harder than the other humans, works longer than the other humans, and never makes mistakes. Not only is the cicada never thanked for his hard work, but he is also shunned and abused by his fellow office workers. He is even forced to walk 12 blocks to use the restroom because the company does not allow him to use the one at the office, and the company docks his pay for the time spent traveling to the restroom and back. The cicada works for 17 years under these conditions, which is interesting because 17 years is the amount of time some species of cicada will spend underground in its nymph stage as it feeds on the sap from tree roots. After the 17 years, the cicada “retires” and is told to clean out his desk. With no money, no home, and no work to do, the cicada heads to the roof of the office building in what the reader is meant to think might be an attempt at suicide. Instead, the cicada molts out of his nymph-style body and flies off into the sunset with other cicadas to enjoy the rest of his days.
5. Themes: This book, although short, is quite rich and profound in the themes that it displays. The two most obvious themes, which overlap with each other quite a bit, are immigration and racism. The idea of a cicada being the only (or at least one of very few) one of its kind in a society of others seems to allude deeply to commonly told immigrant stories. The way that the cicada is treated in the book reflects the sad nature of how immigrants or foreign workers are often treated, particularly in more homogeneous societies. The author, Shaun Tan, is an Australian man with Chinese ancestry, and so Cicadamay be a vehicle for him to tell the story of himself or his family or other people from his life with similar experiences. Closely tied in with the xenophobia often felt towards immigrants is the theme of racism. Obviously a cicada looks pretty different from a human, and so the author seems to use this as a metaphor to show how people often treat those who are very different. In the end the cicada seems to overcome the awful experiences of his life with the humans, and he is even able to find solace in being with other cicadas who can relate to his experience.
6. Style: The book is seemingly written in a “haiku-esque” format, and the last page even ends the story with a famous haiku about cicadas. Although the lines don’t perfectly follow a 5-7-5 syllable sequence, each page is three lines that manage to say quite a bit with very few words. The book is written in broken English that one might expect to hear from a non-native speaker, particularly one of east Asian decent.
7. Touchy Areas: While the themes of racism, immigration, xenophobia, etc. might be a little touchy for some readers, Cicadapresents these themes in a way in which no one society is being criticized. Most likely the cicada represents an eastern immigrant to a western society, but goes no further than that. The rest is extrapolated by the audience itself. The book does not have profanity, serious violence, or any more “adult themes”, and probably would be suitable for children as young as 7 or 8, even if they do not fully comprehend the themes.
8. Related Titles: The Arrivalby Shaun Tan, The Grapes of Wrathby John Steinbeck
9. Evaluation: To me, this short book is very profound in its overall metaphor of how it shows the life of an immigrant through the body of a cicada. Those in my family who came to America a couple generations ago have stories with similar features. I also think it is very easy to relate to this book, particularly if a person is an immigrant or has close relationships with immigrants (or if a person simply experiences empathy). When I lived in China for four years, there were definitely times when I was looked down on or treated unfairly by my boss and colleagues, although circumstances most likely make my experience easier in many ways, particularly in that I always had a choice to return to my home country at any time. Overall, I think this is an excellent book with many layers to its depth, and I think it could be enjoyed by readers of almost any age. I give it a 10/10.
