Art Spiegelman's Maus is not your typical comic book. It's a comic book, a biography and even an autobiography all in one. The two part story is widely considered one of the best works in comic book history.
When I first heard about Maus, a comic book, about the holocaust, where Jewish people are depicted as mice and the Nazis are depicted as cats I was intrigued, but at the same time curious how it would work. First of all, I'm usually into comic books like X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man etc. Secondly, this is the Holocaust - the biggest crime and tragedy in all of human history. It's got to be one hell of a comic book to tell this story in such a way - and it is.
What I loved about this comic book, was not only that it recounted the horrors that Vladek Spiegelman went through during the Holocaust, but that it also gives you a raw portrayal of his relationship with his son, and author of the book, Art Spiegelman. As we learn about Vladek's experiences, we are also taken through the journey of Art interviewing his father and reacting to the events as we do. As I read more and more, I felt as if I was sitting in Vladek's kitchen in Rego Park, NY listening to his story of survival.
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| Vladek and Art Spiegelman |
Surprisingly, there was a lot of humor in the story. Often times it felt like I was reading something that came right out of Seinfeld script. The author's art work and story telling are so great in this book that my emotions ranged from laughter to complete horror or sadness without ever turning the page.
Vladek's resourcefulness, hope and love for his first wife, Anja kept him alive through the Holocaust. Remembering his wife seems to open some wounds and also fill a void that he shares with his son, Art.
Now let's touch a little bit on the animal metaphors. Spiegelman chose to depict Jewish people as mice. The mouse is a very hard working animal, smart, but pretty defenseless. As Spiegelman noted in his book, Jews were viewed as mice by Nazis for another reason - they were the "vermin of mankind".
But I think there is another reason he chose mice. Mice are survivors by nature. No matter how many mouse traps you set, or which exterminator you call, mice always find a way to survive.
It's pretty obvious why he chose Nazis to be cats if Jews were mice. Cats are the natural enemy of the mouse. Let's face it cat people, they can also be pretty cruel. They kill for fun, and play with their food before eating it - if they eat it at all.
Americans were depicted as dogs in the book. Dogs are man's best friend, are friendly, and they traditionally hate cats. They are loyal and are the most "powerful" among cats and mice. Unless I'm missing something, Spiegelman went pretty easy on Americans, considering how long it took for them to step into the war.
There are so many layers, and emotions to this book, which is what makes it so great. Whether you are into comic books, history...or just like reading, I think you should check Maus out. I can now safely say that Maus should be on your list of must read comics.
