Maus

            This week’s read was “Maus” and boy was it intense. It’s just a superb concept to tell a holocaust survivor’s tale using animal characters, and in comic form no less. As Art Spiegelman even addressed in his book, holocaust stories, both true accounts and fictional, have been written a million times over. This is a great way to interest a new audience that wouldn’t normally read these sorts of stories, and having it in comic form makes it accessible to all. It’s really quite fascinating. It helps that I love history and WWII is one of my favorite time periods to read and learn about.   

            I really liked the contrast of going back and forth between WWII Europe and 1980’s America. It really added a whole other level to the characters. The not entirely chronological storytelling method is also very effectively used here. It’s like a story being told within a story. It’s Art’s relationship with his aging father as well as Vladeck’s story of surviving the war. It is also Art’s personal story about himself and his family. It is very compelling to be privy to that sort of insight into, not only a character, but the author as well, seeing as how these events are true for the most part.  

            The art style is also very interesting. It’s simple but very effective. I also find it interesting that most of the characters look the same with only minor changes in clothing and body type but it never becomes confusing as to which character is which. From a purely artistic standpoint, that is quite a feat. The choice to make all the different nationalities different animals is a great concept as well. I liked the imagery for when Vladeck is trying to conceal that he is a Jew. He wore a pig mask because the Poles were depicted as pigs. It helps illustrate just how hard it would have been for them to hide and blend in with the crowd.

            This graphic novel has definitely been one of my favorites so far. It is incredibly compelling and very well written and illustrated. It’s amazing that Speigelman can create such emotional connections with his audience using only animal caricatures. This is definitely a story I would read again and recommend to others.