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.

Having read the diaries of Victor Klemperer from the period of 1933 all the way to his death in East Germany in 1959, I have a very good idea of what it was to live the life of a Jew under the auspices of Nazi rule. What the author Art Spiegelman has done in his Pulitzer winning graphic novel is to convey to us the life and time of what it was to live as a Jew in Nazi Germany. This book describes the travails of Valdek Spiegelman as to how he lived in Poland under the terror of Nazi rule. In this graphic depiction of living the terror of Nazi rule in Eastern Europe we see the ever increasing pressure of Nazism extinguishing the Jewish culture. Spiegelman depicts the Jewish population as being of the mice population and the Nazi's as the depiction of cats. This story tells of the horrors and deprivations endured by the Jewish community. Suffering the increased pograms that deprived the Jews of a normal life, we see the mistreatment to the Jewish population. Spiegelman also interweaves the thoughts and life of Vladek Speigelman as a rather older man recollecting the events of the Holocaust of Eastern Europe in the 1940's. Vladek as an older man trying to make his way in living the life of a senior American citizen in Rego Park Queens, NY tries to put his experiences of the Holocaust behind him. He is rather unsuccessful in doing this. His son wants to get the full story of all these past experiences and finds a fearful maze to negotiate in getting a true and full story. This story is both sad and very poignant and its ending is very much anti-climactic!! Spiegelman weaves an excellent graphic novel which begs for an encore. I do believe one is coming to us down the way. Great read!! Well deserving 5 stars!!

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