naphtalia's Full Review: Art Spiegelman - Maus: A Survivor's Tale My Fathe...
Dad's never been a fan of the funny pages, so when Maus came out, it was a struggle to get him to pick up the copies that had been given to him as gifts. Once we convinced him, however, he became as big a fan as there was of the books. He has since given several sets as gifts.
The Maus tales were originally published as two separate volumes, but now are easiest to find as a single boxed set. The stories make a unified whole and there is no reason to not get both books at once.
Maul: A Survivor's Tale centers on the retelling of Art Spiegelman's father's story of survival during the Holocaust. The story is not told in typical biography, but in a comic book format. The story includes Art's current relationship with his father, and his father's retelling of events he's never spoken about before. Spiegelman interviewed his father, Vladek, and added graphics to the story his father told. In his comic book version, Spiegelman takes an Orwellian twist in the story telling and represents various races as different animals. The Jews are mice; the Germans are cats; the Poles are pigs; the French are frogs; and Americans are dogs.
Spiegelman's book is neither easy to get though nor pleasant. It is, however, important and compelling. Vladek and his wife Anna are amazing. Through a combination of kindness, resourcefulness and pure luck, their existence continues. The kindness they find in the tale is touching; the betrayals are horrifying. Of course, it helps to know that Vladek survived to tell his tale.
Much of the books concern Spiegelman's struggle to get his father to tell the story. I have heard Holocaust stories before, but as a survivor's child, this was also compelling to me. Many children of survivors feel a certain guilt at having escaped the suffering of our parents. Not many books tell one that others feel this same emotion.
The books follow Vladek from pre-war Poland to his marriage with Anna and then his enlistment in the Polish army after hostilities begin. Then it comes to the ghetto and their hiding. Eventually, we see how Vladek survives first Auschwitz and then Dachau
When he arrives, he is physically strong. He is able to get through the camps by faking skills as a tinsmith and a shoemaker. As we see how he managed to survive the horrors of the camp, we understand why Vladek became so cheap with those things he has.
There is, believe it or not, a great deal of humor mixed with the heart ache here. I recommend reading both Maus I and II. The visuals here at once soften the story by dehumanizing the tale. At the same time, since it is not photos or realistic drawings, we are told of more detail than many are willing to provide. And of course as the daughter of a survivor myself, itt helps to have a son interpreting the tales.
These books should be required reading in high school or university history classes. The personal story makes far more impact that hugely incomprehensible numbers. I won't say you'll enjoy these books, because you probably won't. You will, however, get a lot out of the experience of reading them.
**********
You can follow the links below to other reviews regarding Holocaust related subjects:
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.