Sunday, July 1, 2018

Maus


Maus
by Art Spiegelman

Imaginative delivery combined with an important story makes one special book.  Maus by Art Spiegelman is one of these books.  Spiegelman tells the real-life story of his parents living through the German Nazi invasion of Europe in WWII.  The twist to this book is that Spiegelman is a cartoonist and the book is done in graphic art. The drawing is terrific and he illustrates the Jewish people as mice, the Nazis as cats, and the Polish people as pigs.  The book begins as Spieglman, a man in his twenties/thirties, is trying to learn about what happened to his family when they were in the midst of the annihilation of Jews.  The story moves between the present (Spiegelman meeting with his father) and the past (his father’s recollection of the takeover of Germany, and how he and his family attempted to avoid death).  I have read a number of books on the topic and would say Spiegelman’s is one of the very best.  A horrific experience that must never be forgotten.  My only suggestion is to make it into one book, not a series of books.  Book one ends after his parents are captured by the Nazis.  Art work is spectacular. 

No comments:

Post a Comment