The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman - #BookReview

 

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his ageing father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody paw prints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.

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This has been on my reading radar for a while but have not found an opportunity to read it. However, when I heard that it had recently been banned from a school curriculum in an American state, claiming that it contained an "unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and it's depiction of violence and suicide," I thought it was time that I got around to reading it.

It is true that the book does contain all of the things quoted above, but I would argue those things deemed unnecessary were highly necessary. Let's not forget that as a graphic book these are drawings that are depicting images of the Holocaust and it is and should always be, impossible to tell of what happened in the death camps without it being disturbing.

I recently read a book which I will not mention by name. It was hugely popular and set in one of the concentration camps. In my opinion, the lighthearted way in which some of the narrative described the experience is far more disturbing than anything to be found within the covers of Maus.

Incidentally, since the American School Board released that statement, sales of Maus have rocketed, and I would strongly encourage you to read this book for yourself. It is actually two separate books but the version here is a complete volume and contains both books. 

This is also the first graphic novel I have read. I was never sure that I would enjoy reading in this format, but I was pleasantly surprised and I may try another at a future date. 

To date, it is the only graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize.

 

ISBN: 978 0141014081

Publisher: Penguin

Formats: Hardback and paperback.

No. of Pages: 296 (paperback)

About the Author:

Born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel Maus. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines Arcade and Raw has been influential, and from 1992 he spent a decade as contributing artist for The New Yorker. He is married to designer and editor Françoise Mouly, and is the father of writer Nadja Spiegelman.