The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

Summary

Maus chronicles Spiegelman’s father experiences of the Holocaust as a surviving Jew. It follows his story frame-by-frame from youth, to marriage to re-marriage in pre-war Poland to imprisonment during the war in Auswitchz. The survivor’s tale that results is shocking, unadulterated and straightforward.

My Review

One of the realities of the Holocaust is that however many stories you here and how much ever the horrors of it shock you, you just cannot imagine what must’ve have actually happened. It’s beyond us. But Spiegelman’s artistic caricatures and imaginations will prove this wrong. The simple fact that he uses mice to depict the Jews, and in a way show that they were considered the lowest of the lowest is a genius masterstroke but in a sad way. The animal faces on the humans is actually terrifying.

The author mentions in the dialogue between his father that he isn’t writing this book for morals or lessons, he just wants the truth to come forward. After writing this book, the author also went into a depression, thinking of the horrors of the Nazi war, and also because he thought that because of his disagreements with his father he shows him in a bad light in the book. But if anything I thought his father was resourceful and had a deep love for the author’s mother Anja and that is what helped him survive the worst.

Final Verdict

The number of drawings in this thick and heavy book will surprise you and shock you and the honesty will most definitely touch you. The novel is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the essence of this genius artwork will resonate with you long time after you’ve finished reading it.     

Who Should Read This

History and war book-lovers will love this!