I have decided to start writing book reviews. Both for myself and for you. Please do message me if you have different interpretations or ideas about the book.
After reading and loving the cartoon versions of Sapiens, I was left with an itch to reimmerse myself within the graphic novel world. I’ve recently been consuming a lot of WW2 content so when I saw Maus described as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust,” I had to give it a shot.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus illustrates the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe. It is written by his son, Art Spiegelman, who is on a mission to better understand his unconventional father.
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
A cartoon depicting the holocaust from a Polish-Jewish perspective.
It tells the life of Vladek Spiegelman before, throughout and after the war.
The book flip-flops back and forth between Vladek’s experiences in wartime Europe and his present-day relationship with his son, Art, the author.
📖 Who Should Read It?
Lovers of comics and people who don’t like long books.
A must-read for anyone looking to learn more about the horrors of Hitler’s Europe; moreso for those seeking a different perspective and format.
Those who solely read self-help non-fiction books. Maus is a breath of fresh air for those caught in that repetitive cycle.
📒 Summary + Notes
The book leverages anthropomorphism to make the unimaginable tales of Vladek more relatable. The nazis are depicted as cats, the Jews are mice, the ethnic Poles are pigs and the Americans are dogs.
Most WW2 and holocaust content is tough to consume; irrespective of whether it’s a movie, a book, a documentary or an interview. Art Spielgman manages to convey the same story but in a humorous and consumable manner.
Rather than opting for a biography, Art Spiegelman gives the reader an insight into what his troubled relationship with his Holocaust survivor Dad looks like. Although unnecessary, it did emphasise the potential for PTSD and how the stress witnessed throughout those difficult years forever influences someone. Not only did the terrors of the holocaust impact the survivors, but also future generations. Similar to how 35 years of fascism and 75 years of communism still influence the Spanish and Russian generations of today.
Interesting because not only is it a biographical tale of Vladek Spiegelman, but it is also an autobiographical tale; a hybrid. Art shares the experience of him having to coax his father to share his story, of his doubts about publishing the book and other obstacles he faced in his creative process. Art is brutally honest in how he portrays his own guilt over his inability to truly comprehend what his parents went through and voices his concern over whether his choice of format would be justified.
In spite of the horrific tales, Art does a great job of incorporating humour. And so, I found it to be an engaging read where I often let out a quiet chuckle.
Maus was at the receiving end of many criticisms and was actually banned both in Russia and Tennessee. The supposed reasoning was (1) the front cover is plastered with a giant swastika and violates anti-Nazi laws (2) the book has a drawing of a dead naked woman, notably Art’s mother when she committed suicide years after the war ended. Art Spiegelman’s response to these acts of censorship was: they want “a kinder, gentler, fuzzier Holocaust” to teach the next generations and that they want to. Friendly reminder that in #63 I explore the recent War on Speech and the dangers of censoring knowledge.
✍️ My Top Quotes
“To die, it's easy. But you have to struggle for life!”
“He was a millionaire, but even this didn't save him his life.”
“Yes life always takes the side of life and somehow the victims are blamed; but it wasn't the best people who survived nor did the best ones die, it was RANDOM.”
“I feel so inadequate trying to reconstruct a reality that was worse than my darkest dreams.”
“Don't worry about friends. Believe me, they don't worry about you.”
🍀 Impressions/How the Book Changed Me
The book highlighted how the Jewish and ethnic minority struggles of WW2 were not limited to concentration camps, but were instead, a decade-long process where individuals gradually were alienated from society.
I am now keen to explore how other atrocities have been represented via cartoons and alternative formats.
I am reminded of this idea with almost every piece of WW2 content I consume - the hate witnessed in the 1930s and 1940s could happen anywhere, and could certainly happen again.
As Man’s Search for Meaning reinforced, “those who have a 'why', can bear with almost any 'how'.”
Rating out of 10: Art’s ability to embed humour into one of the darkest stories ever told makes Maus an engaging and dare-I-say ‘enjoyable’ read. 7.5/10