Customer Reviews

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

You don't have to be a WWII aficionado to be able to appreciate this book. It is a masterwork of storytelling as well as a touching story. Art Spielberg created something magical and engaging. A must read.

The title of this review consists of words I don't use too often. But this is a masterpiece that deserved its Pulitzer Prize and then some. What makes Spiegelman's work so moving is the juxtaposition of a supposedly lighthearted form, the comic strip, with the greatest evil and suffering in human history, the Holocaust. Spiegelman's parents miraculously survived the concentration camps, being among very few survivors, getting by on luck and (in the case of Spiegelman's father) a lot of resourcefulness. This is their story, from the point of view of the father, who lost nearly all of his relatives. With the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats, this work pulls no punches in describing the true horrors of the Holocaust, and Spiegelman's minimalist artwork makes the images all the more disturbing. You don't get this kind of emotion, terror, and brutal honesty in standard written accounts of the period. But underneath the direct suffering of the Holocaust, the true theme of this book is the lasting effects on the Spiegelman family, including the father's lasting agony and the mental illness shared by both Spiegelman's mother and himself, who hadn't even been born yet. The strained relationship between father and son are the true heart of this tremendous work. I haven't been this blown away by a work of literature in a very long time, if ever.

A comic book on the Holocost? That includes a love story? And humor? Seems far fetched, but somehow it works. Very well, at that.

Spiegelman weaves three stories between two books. First and foremost is the story of his father Vladek's survival of the Holocost. Second is Art and Vladek coming to grips with each other, a relationship that is strained at best. Lastly is the story of Vladek's love for his wife Anja, and how Art and Vladek come to grips with her death.

This is no Hollywood story. The humor is dark, at best. No punches are pulled with the Holocost. There is no great happy ending. The book covers how people cope with the terrible. It does so in a very real and true manner. Truly gripping.

The author is to be commended to be opening up his life, as well as the lives of his family. The honesty makes for gripping and disturbing coverage of a most important topic.

What an elaborately told tale. Mr. Spiegelman tells a heart-wrenching story using approachable metaphor. This book is an emotional and powerful read.

Title: Maus
By: Art Spiegelman
Reviewed by: L. Kim
Period: 1

The book Maus is a true story about Jews who survived in the World War II. The author's father Vladek, a Jew, and his family had to suffer a lot. Art actually has an older brother, but he died when he was with his relative. Later when Art's parents were running away to Hungary, the Germans caught them and sent them to Auschwitz, a place with all the gas chambers. Fortunately, they were very lucky and survived from all the torture. Their family members were discriminated for being a Jew and life wasn't so easy for them. When the Americans came to fight the Nazis, all of the prisoners were now saved. They were very happy and Vladek was now able to be back together with his family.

There were many things I liked about the book, nothing was bad. This book thaught me history and it was a comic book. That made it more fun for me to read. Unlike most of the books I've read in the past, it was a true story. I felt really sad while reading this book, also sorry. It was a wonderful book.

My favorite part of this book was when Vladek was going to the market with Art and his girl friend to return an opened box of cereal. It was very funny and it reminded me of how people became so cheap(no offense) after the suffering during the war. Art and his girl friend were both very embarrassed. Vladek still got it returned though. Maus is just great.

I originally read Maus when it came out and i had an interest in the Jewish Halocaust. The horrors that this book portrays..sickening and disturbing stuff. Stuff to bring you nightmares.. I cannot get the image of a Nazi Cat picking up a mouse child by the leg and swinging the child against a brick wall bludgeoning it to death..Real powerful stuff. The connecting story of Art and his father Vladek is just as moving for anyone that has ever felt distance from one of their parents..kinda reminds me of me and my dad. I reccomend this book for all ages...But for younger readers I think parents should have discussions with their children. Buy this book !

Although still brilliant, it is only natural that this second installation would lose the flair and novelty of the original Maus. I actually would have preferred that Spiegleman wrote this after his father's death (which is documented only in the book's final page: a tombstone in the last panel), since he was the tale's central character, and since we're so painfully aware throughout of his afflictions. Vladek's health has gotten worse since Maus I, and his physical travails provide an interesting subtext to the story.

That said, the Maus II is still excellent, and is comfortable in that the characters and style by now are familiar (Mala and Speigleman's wife also play more prominently here than in Maus I). Maus II picks up where Maus I left off, and chronicles the depravity of the concentration camps. It is a stark contrast to version one's descent from family contentment and happiness into Hell- here, there is salvation after unspeakable horror, as Vladek is freed, and later reunited with his wife. Sadly, his plight is never too far behind him, as life outside the concentration camp is rife with its own set of problems, and a perfect adjustment to a free life is never truly made. As Maus I was, this story is remarkable in its depiction of the human condition- warts (and evil characters, family squabbling, spousal discord) and all.

After everything you've ever read or seen about the Holocaust, you still need to read this book. It's an experience unlike any other, because it's the only comic book (as a lifelong fan, I can't call them graphic novels, which I feel is only a term used to generate mainstream acceptance) ever created to specifically focus in on this issue and tell the story of a Holocaust survivor. And being a comic, Maus has advantages over just about every other medium of communication. The text allows Spiegelman to go into greater depth with his subject than film or television could. The pictures, and especially the sequential panel structure, allow Spiegelman to provide quick and dirty narratives at particular junctures, and allow the reader's imagination take care of the rest.

And make no mistake, Spiegelman doesn't shy away from details of suffering in the book. Many such details are conveyed in matter-of-fact form, and somehow, that doesn't diminish their impact or the monstrous conditions the Jews lived in during the Holocaust. I'll never forget the one panel showing Spiegelman's young parents, hiding from the Nazis and starving, chewing on a piece of wood because "it feels like real food." Incredible.

As an added treasure, Spiegelman often appears as a character in his own book and provides commentary on the book creation process and his relationship with his father. Incredibly honest and poignant, Spiegelman has created an unforgettable treasure.

And if you're not going to read it for Vladek Spiegelman's moving story of survival and love for his wife, read it to find out that comics aren't just for kids anymore.

In Maus I and Maus II, Art Spiegelman takes an innovative and creative approach to telling a story that many know all too well. Maus is the story of one man's journey through the maze of Hitler's Europe. By using the unconventional technique of a graphic novel, Art Spiegelman places the reader in a setting where the descriptive pictures tel a story which no words could parallel. The story of Vladek's journey captures the reader, and as a result Maus is an easy read.

One of the most influencial comics I have ever read. It really shows you how much more serious a comic book can be than justa few super powered heroes. Very, very entertaining. Finished both in one night. Anyone interested in writing comics should buy this book ASAP.