It is just a matter of time, awful time, until we see the red tree again. One single red leaf is always present on every page – spotting it is like playing the most sombre game of Where’s Wally? No matter how large or small the leaf is on each page, its continuous presence is the important thing, it shows us that a tiny shred of hope is always there, even if we don’t notice it, it never completely abandons us – or perhaps we never completely abandon it. The opening page of the book states, ‘sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to’ and goes on to tell of the search for the red tree… But this is not a story of a quest, it is more of an observation of the helpless meandering we do in life in the absence of the red tree – of hope.Īssuming that the red tree does symbolise hope, the presence of the red leaf, a small part of the tree/a glimpse of hope, is crucial to the book. The Red Tree is epic in its perfection and sadness…it is pretty much like the best handbook for depression ever made! Ah, my favourite genre – picture books for adults! The text is limited, but the few words chosen are perfectly selected the illustrations are crowded, packed with curiosities and a simply inspired strangeness.

This book is beautiful – from idea to execution, in both words and images.

The Red Tree by Shaun Tan