MAUS

MAUS

Art Spiegelman

I've seen this novel sitting on the shelf at the book store on many, many visits. I never really had a reason to pick it up- it seems like a rather depressing book from just the cover. Now, that I've been giving a reason to give this book a try, I'm so glad that I did. The initial idea of the book is a story from the Holocaust, except that the Jews are portrayed as mice and the Germans as cats. This difference in species is very important, in my opinion, because it visually shows that the Germans saw a huge difference between them and the Jews- so much so, it was like the Jews were a different species. I also was researching this and found that he idea for Jews as mice was taken right from Nazi propaganda- they would make the Jews out as "vermin" that needed to be eradicated (truly disgusting if you as me). You learn right off the bat that the author of this book wants to tell his fathers Holocaust story. The book is actually split into different parts based on time- things that happened in the past to Vladek and things going on in the present. There for the book has two different storylines happening- Vladek's experiences during WWII and the relationship he shares with his son. It seems that Vladek is haunted by the Holocaust even after it is over and done with- he makes many comparisons to the Holocaust to his son through out the story- for example: when Art was a boy and fell on his roller skates and his friend continues on without him. Instead of Vladek being a normal parent and comforting his child he decided to relate this incident to when he was in the Holocaust. Another big theme I noticed in this book is all the feelings of guilt that Art has about the things going on in his life, like his guilt about his mother and not being the best son. There is also guilt that Valdek and Art both seem to share about the Holocaust- Valdek by living through it and surviving and Art by growing up with two parents that survived the Holocaust. Besides the thrilling storyline there is also the images going with the words- Maus seems to have a very distinct art style that is very gritty and simplistic. I believe the simplicity is very important to this book, in that, it makes it very easy for the reader to get lost in the story and truly walk in Art's or Vladek's shoes. In turn, the reader fully understands all the underlining meanings and feelings found between the panels. I also like that it is in black and white- I think this also helps with keeping the harsh, cold feeling that can be found in this book. The black and white print reminds me of prison colors- which the mice were prisoners so it fits. In the end, I believe this book is really a great read- truly inspirational, but also very emotional and depressing. You can really learn a lesson or two by reading a book like this.