Masterpiece
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Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.
That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.
The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.
So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.
One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.
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Searing honesty
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"Maus" is an amazing accomplishment and a rightly revered classic. What I admire most about its narrative is its honesty. If Spielberg ever adapted this book as a film, it would become a simplistic, black-and-white affair: one-dimensional Nazi aggressors stamping on one-dimensional Jewish victims. Instead, Spiegelman has opted to respect our intelligence and throw the doors wide open on this repellent slice of human history. He pulls no punches and tells his father's story with abject truth - even when sometimes portraying the Jewish community in a less than flattering light.
In the unflinching pages of "Maus", Jews betray Jews. Jews steal from Jews. Jews discriminate against non-Jews. I sat up with a shock when Vladek, the tale's central holocaust survivor, displays unbelievable racism towards a black man. Having lived through unspeakable persecution, he speaks of African-Americans in the same way that a Nazi would speak of a Jew. Also, in his old age, Vladek has come to resemble the Nazi stereotype of the "miserly old Jew". This adds incredible power and depth to this already complex story, throwing up countless questions on morality, racial identity and the grey area between good and evil.
It is a staggeringly brave book and its courage has sealed its success. I only wish more artists out would get some guts and show the world some work that really matters.
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Rupert in Nazi germany
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I have respect for the author in that it was brave to explore the subject of the holocaust in comic book form- quite an original thing to do. His story is an important one to tell. However, this does not take away the fact that Spiegelman can't draw. The art is in black and white with no rendering and Spiegelman's style is flat and bland.
In this comic book, the jews are mice and the Nazis are cats. The people have animal heads and human bodies-like Rupert bear! That is the last thing you want to think about when reading a book about the holocaust.
And as a person who has experienced having mice in my house (mouse droppings in the cutlery drawer is not pleasant) I find it hard to sympathise with any cartoon mouse.
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More Important Than Mickey
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I cannot be the only person who had become jaded by Hollywood's over use of the "Holocaust" button as a short circuit to character depth and motivation. Then I read this and was moved much more than all those movies and TV dramas could ever manage.
As has been said elsewhere, overcome your reluctance to read and comic book/graphic novel and this book rewards with lifelong meaning and resonance. Clever, funny and desperately sad all at once.
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Maus
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There is a huge amount of holocaust literature available, lots of it well written and moving but this graphic novel packs quite a punch and is all the more engrossing because of its cartoon form.
I found it just as affecting as Primo Levi's books which is high praise indeed. I have lent this to family who, like me, found it gut wrenching but rewarding. And none of us read comics or graphic novels ever. If you don't either, make this the exception. Should be essential reading.
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