Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History

I made the “mistake” of purchasing Maus II over 20 years ago (simply because the bookstore didn’t have the first volume). Regardless, I found the comic book presentation of the Holocaust surprisingly effective in generating such an emotional read. It took a while, but seeing Maus II sitting on a book shelf without it preceding volume finally bothered me enough to get MAUS – MY FATHER BLEEDS HISTORY. While the second volume (MAUS II) stands fine on its own, MAUS certainly serves as the glue that holds the entire story together. For the most part, I’m am not a fan of comic books, but Art Spiegelman’s art captivated me at an early age. Spiegelman is one of the original artists that contributed to my first childhood passion: Wacky Packages (trading cards/stickers that satirized common household products). While I didn’t initially connect the dots between the 70s fad and Holocaust-themed comic book, I now see the way Spiegelman attracts me to his work. There is a subtle complexity to his rather simple drawings that made reading MAUS both thought-provoking and memorable. I found MAUS to be two stories presented as one. The main storyline is the story of his father Vladeck’s plight as a Jew living in Poland before and during World War II (just before he and his wife Anja are sent to Auschwitz). The second storyline is about the author’s relationship with his father, which is revealed as the son presses his father to talk about surviving the Holocaust. While the story of Spiegelman’s parents is certainly compelling, the metaphorical manner in which it is illustrated is what sticks. Spiegelman uses animals to represent groups/races of people in a way that reminds me of Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. Jews are presented as mice … meek pests/vermin that are easy to kill. Nazis/Germans are depicted as rather vicious cats (that kill the vermin) and Poles are shown as pigs (perhaps a reference to the fact that many Poles betrayed Jews in their country to the Nazis … in other words, swine). I found graphic metaphors ingenious as they add a significant emotional tone to the story being told. The Holocaust storyline comprises the bulk of the book’s illustrations with the father/son moments serving as bridges in between events. As we come to understand the suffering of Spiegelman’s parents, we learn that his mother (Anja) killed herself in 1968, leaving a large void in his life. There is an obvious yearning for Spiegelman to learn more about his mother through his father, yet the task proves to be challenging. On the surface, the concept of a Holocaust-related “comic book” seems awkward, but I found MAUS to be a magnificent and poignant read. It is also hard to put down … I read the entire book without stopping in short order. I would highly recommend MAUS (and MAUS II, for that matter) for providing a provocatively unique perspective of the Holocaust. This series intrigued me enough to pick up a copy of “MetaMaus”, which meticulously (and exhaustively) explores the author’s motive for MAUS/MAUS II, as well as detailing more of his parents’ lives.

Interesting book

MAUS is an incredibly impactful and thought-provoking graphic novel. Art Spiegelman’s storytelling, combined with the unique art style, brings the horrors of the Holocaust to life in a way that words alone cannot. The way it portrays the trauma and generational impact of survival is profound. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but it's an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the depth of human suffering and resilience. A masterful work that stays with you long after you finish it.

This book is an easy read. It transitions from past life tragedies in the holocaust to real time calmness In his present day. I love reading more about the lifestyle that they experience in these times when money has almost no bounds and food and gold is all people really care about. How people will deceive you and trade with you all to save their own life. Shows how relationships built will only help you when the time comes. Breathe taking depiction and great read. IF YOUR LOOKING FOR SOMETHING GRUESOME THIS IS NOT IT. WATCH VIDEO. Complaints? Hate to say it but I was looking for more tragic stories. What he went through was tragic but I feel this depiction is rated E for everyone. I wanted to read about aushwitz and how people survived but it's mentioned in the book. Not guesomely mentioned. Great book and shows life of people on the run. WATCH VIDEO.

I'm Jewish and when I saw a graphic novel about Holocaust... well... I didn't feel anything positive. First, I don't encourage my kids to read graphic novels; there are plenty of real novels they haven't read. Second, I felt like Holocaust was not a good topic for comix, but I'm ready to be wrong. Now I'm getting the second book. My daughter had to read the first one for HS. She loved it so much that she even told me the entire plot and complained about the ending. It is not the first book on the subject she read, but it might be the most engaging one.

"Maus" is a great book to teach older children about the Holocaust and WWII.

Title: Maus Author: Art Spiegelman When writing a history novel, you have two options to adapt it, 1. Glorify the perspective that is being presented 2. Detail every moment accurately no matter the unsavory content. Number 2 encapsulates Spiegelman’s method for Maus, and it sure proves why it should be the only method. Respecting the history of WW2 is something that to this day is done wrong to appeal to a certain perspective, and this book’s theme shows how to respect objective points in history. Take Vladek, one of the book’s main protagonists, and the one who shares his history that we read, he didn’t pull punches on what he had to do, and what others did, no matter the context. The messed up stuff people had to do during the war is summarized with a quote from the prologue of the book “Friends? Your friends? If you lock them together in a room with no food for a week, Then you could see what it is, friends!” The style of this book has very graphic descriptions of scenes to go with the graphic illustrations give most young adult or teen readers a great balance of detail and appeal. Without a doubt a revolutionary book, if you like history mixed with graphic novels, this book is highly recommended.

The writer’s father, who is the protagonist and survived the Holocaust, is currently neither affable or likable even in the eyes of the writer. That’s one of the reasons why what is told in Maus sounds so real and realistic. Once you start reading, it would be hard for you to put it down.

Diese Comicheft ist ein wunderbare Formular mit maximum effect. Es ist auf eine unübliche Art und Weise! Ein ware Geschichte.

Langue anglaise obligatoire.....

A