Maus I & II A Survivor's Tale

The work was originally published in two volumes, in 1980 and 1991, “My Father Bleeds History” and “And Here My Troubles Began”, respectively; although the edition I read combines both into a single book. It’s challenging to rate a work like Maus, as it isn’t just a story, but a powerful testimony of Vladek Spiegelman’s experiences during the Holocaust. From the moment I began reading, I knew that reviewing the book would be a difficult task.

What drew me to this book at first, apart from the themes discussed, were the reviews and international acclaim, as it is the first and only graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer Prize, but also the originality behind it, and how the characters aren’t depicted as humans.
 In Maus, Spiegelman depicts Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, and other groups as different animals, which serves to highlight how prejudices and racism often reduced people to simple stereotypes. It is both innovative and symbolic, and although it makes it slightly difficult to distinguish between the characters at first, it goes to show how dangerous it is to look at groups instead of individuals with identities and personalities.

Although this was my first time reading a graphic novel, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The combination of black-and-white visuals and powerful storytelling created a unique and immersive experience that felt impactful to me. The simplicity of the illustrations added depth to the narrative, enhancing emotions and the complexity of the themes that are shown.

Spiegelman illustrates how the Holocaust doesn’t end with liberation, and how it, instead, continues to shape the lives of survivors’ children. The second generation, like the author himself, inherits the emotional and psychological weight of their parents' trauma. As I read Maus, I found myself asking: Can trauma ever be fully communicated to those who didn’t experience it? How does the weight of survival affect not just those who lived through it but also their descendants? Artie perceives the Holocaust as a kind of divide between him and his father, and even confesses to his wife how he sometimes wishes he had been in Auschwitz along them; thinking that would help him have a better grasp of the depth of the experiences and effects it had on them. This intergenerational perspective is rarely explored so deeply, making Maus groundbreaking.

Vladek’s personal experiences, including his time in labour camps, the loss of his family, and his firsthand encounters with violence and brutality, bring a deeply human perspective, as well as a human face, to these events. By portraying this progression from propaganda and laws restricting Jewish rights to what we know as the Holocaust, Maus does an excellent job when showing how prejudice can evolve into policies of discrimination and, ultimately, genocide when left unchallenged. This book doesn’t only preserve the memory of the Holocaust but also urges readers to remain cautious against similar patterns of hatred in the present.

Just stunning. One of the best things I've ever read.

The face that Art has made comics about the process itself of making this epic graphics novel, is mind blowing. It is what keeps this graphics novel about Holocaust, humble, non presumptuous and real.

          I’ve never been a fan of graphic novels, yet somehow, I have already read three of them by the end of March in 2024.  All three I picked for prompts in a reading challenge, however, this one and it’s successor have been on my radar for years.  I read the first volume of The Umbrella Academy for a read it-watch it prompt, these two I chose for a prompt that had me seeking out banned comics.  Truthfully, how many banned comics are there (lemme go google that real quick…)?  Ok, so it turns out there are quite a few.  As a fan of history, however, this one had been lurking on the sidelines of my TBR for a while.  Thanks to one of my 2024 reading challenges, I had a legitimate reason to buy them. 

            I have seen a trend with my book choices that I am finding disconcerting.  I find myself with expectations…and frequently the books I read don’t live up to said expectations (it’s actually why I avoid reading the synopsis on the back of the book and I ESPECIALLY avoid reading other people’s reviews until I’m done with it).  Maus has been hyped for quite some time, so I was expecting this horribly evil comic.  That is not what these two volumes are…at all.  This is a poignant, lengthy conversation between a man and his father during the father’s twilight years.  While the story centers around his father’s experiences during World War II, it felt like it was more about this son trying desperately to find a way to connect with his dad. 

            His dad’s journey is terrifying and heartbreaking, but I found nothing about it that would warrant these two comics being banned or challenged.  I don’t think I will ever understand book bans.  This chronicles one man’s journey through one of the most horrific periods in human history, why in the world would anybody want this suppressed?  Spiegelman’s father retells his life prior to nazis taking over in Germany.  He went from being prosperous and having a full life, to living in absolute hell in Auschwitz.  He talks about how he watched the people he love either disappear to fade away in front of him.  These volumes don’t even really dig deeply into the pure nazi evil that took hold.  This is a man’s journey through hell, and how he somehow survived. 

            I would definitely recommend these to anyone, regardless of whether you’re a history person, or a fan of comics book, or just a fan of books in general.  It’s a great story. 

Amazing.

(read in school)

at times, the detachment that comes with telling someone else’s story came through, which was jarring considering how much of the book was told directly by vladek. but spiegelman grapples with so many great questions and uses his format so awesomely. there’s so much to unpack in just a few pages. i’m glad i read this in school!

My first graphic novel, so I’m still getting used to the format. I love the illustrations, I just worry I’m not appreciating them fully. The narrative is truly heartbreaking, both in the past timeline and the current. I can’t wait to read the next one. I also specifically appreciated the change of art style to show Spiegelman’s college-age art style and processing of his mother’s death. You can really feel his grief in his illustrations.

A very gripping narrative on two levels. Totally blew over all my expectations. And it's not even fiction.

Book #116 Read in 2016 Maus 2 by Art Spiegelman This is the graphic novel sequel to Maus and picks up where that book left off. Vladek continues to tell his son Artie about his time in the concentration camps and life after the holocaust. It has forever changed Vladek. This was a good read.

Absolutely brilliant, haunting, heartbreaking, and compelling. I don't think there's anything I can contribute to the gazillion gushing reviews for Maus other than to confirm that this is a must-read for anyone and everyone. It tackles the Holocaust in a way that is at once deeply personal and also detached, with admissions of Art Spiegelman's inability to capture or truly understand what the experience was like for his parents. I think anyone who wants to understand the Holocaust needs to read this book.

Thanks to my friend Murali who recommended this gem. Never thought I'd like a comic book / graphic novel this much. I have picked up MetaMaus next to understand more about Maus / Art and the thinking behind the writing and choice of characters. My perspective about graphic novels has changed after reading this, and am looking forward to reading more.

I've been intending to read this book since 1995. I was not disappointed. The seeming simplicity of the black and white drawings masks a depth, texture, and complexity revealed in the layers of the story. It's heartbreaking, but not defeatist.

god q buen libro, es tan crudo como "hermoso" chau

A daring and highly emotional book, which follows the life of the cartoonist's father as he survives the brutality of the Nazis in Poland. Beautifully written, amazingly drawn and so much more than a Holocaust story. Just wonderful.

Very moving, excited to read book 2

poignant and brilliant...quite the homage

Wow. The best word to describe this book is shocking. The format of cartoon makes the reading a little lighter, but it's still deeply saddening to see what thousands of innocent people have been forced to go through. The book is fast, I read both volumes in just two hours and at all times I was trapped in the story wanting to know how the protagonist managed to escape and return to his normal life, it's a real story and I was very surprised with such dedication and willpower to survive. From here I learned so many lessons that you can't even imagine, despite containing heavy themes, this reading should be mandatory for everyone, especially in recent years that intolerance has been increasingly present around us - and that every day the internet fills up even more with ignorant people who advocate this kind of radical thinking – we need to know history so it doesn't repeat. It's a bit of a relief to know that some people survived and were able to tell their stories and get a second chance, but it's heartbreaking to know that so many didn't survive, and contrary to what we tend to think, they weren't just numbers, they were real people, with families, stories, dreams and hopes. Although we don't know everyone's names, they will never be forgotten, their memories and lives will always be remembered.

I've never been into graphic novels or comics; that being said I've loved everything about this one.

While I've read a good deal of books about WWII, a lot of the information is widely known, but the honesty and how genuinely it feels coming from the author's father, to him, to us, it's what makes this so much better.

I loved the art, the flow, the part where the fourth wall is practically broken and the author talks about his depression and his therapist.

This is the first time where I've understood the most what war did to humanity, what Nazis did to Jews, what it was like.

It was very interesting as well, to put things into perspective, communication and news didn't spread as we're used to, and the story let's you into this feeling of not knowing.

So glad I picked this one up.

The power of ilustration and the comic to tell stories and keep it everlasting, that's what Art Spiegelman make with this master piece 💙

I really love the story, but it's really "text heavy"

A beautifully illustrated, excellent retelling of the holocaust. More understandable than any that can before. A shocking and sad narrative of one man's survival and the effect on every person he comes in contact with after. A tale of survival and survivers guilt. I definitely recommend as an amazingly heart wrecking read.

Wow just wow. Reading this graphic novel was definitely an experience. It was so so sad but an interesting take on the Holocaust from the a survivor's perspective but told by his son.

Heartbreaking. Confronting. Human. Important ✨

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