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Art Spiegelman: Maus: A Survivor's Tale

Alicia

New Member
In May, I'll be reading the graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman (historical fiction). I hear it's a really classic graphic novel! Have you read it? If so, what did you think? Maybe you can read it with us in May (at IAMR)... or if you've already read it, discuss it!

From Amazon.com...
Some historical events simply beggar any attempt at description--the Holocaust is one of these. Therefore, as it recedes and the people able to bear witness die, it becomes more and more essential that novel, vigorous methods are used to describe the indescribable. Examined in these terms, Art Spiegelman's Maus is a tremendous achievement, from a historical perspective as well as an artistic one.
Spiegelman, a stalwart of the underground comics scene of the 1960s and '70s, interviewed his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor living outside New York City, about his experiences. The artist then deftly translated that story into a graphic novel. By portraying a true story of the Holocaust in comic form--the Jews are mice, the Germans cats, the Poles pigs, the French frogs, and the Americans dogs--Spiegelman compels the reader to imagine the action, to fill in the blanks that are so often shied away from. Reading Maus, you are forced to examine the Holocaust anew. Maus: A Survivor's Tale
 
It's definitely on my buy-list, so once I get a job, or win the lottery, I'll be very happy.
 
I went out and bought them today. It was just making me buy it. 25€ for the two books in a carton case thingy, is that much?
 
I don't know how much money that is.... but the books are great to have in your library! I hope you enjoy them!!
I need to find my copy of MAUS I so that I can join in the discussion at It's a Must Read.
 
ah! I don't think that is too bad. Like I said, they are wonderful books to have in your library. 25 for 2 isn't bad. I think I may have paid something similar.
 
Animal Farm is an excellent book. I read it in school so probably didn't pick up on all the politics involved. An excellent read though.
 
When I think about it:

Same satirical water:
The good soldier Svjek Hasek or how to be the best soldier while not doing anything for the Autrian empire in the 1920s
The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov: how the devil came disguised as a cat to disturb social order in communist Moscow
Mort d'un poete Michel del Castillo - the start is a hilarious description of a parody of ministers of a non-existing Romania under the Big Bear and his sweet indecent lady. The minister of sport is a fatty piggy breathlessreddish face... definite TBR if exists in English. Of course this not Romania, as the introduction repeats it endlessly. TBR ....

Also, I know, it is a classic, but Don Quijote and his windmills?

In terms of movies:
Black Cat White Cat: Emir Kusturica.... a masterpiece, especially the pig and his love for cars
TBS

Best as usual,
Morry
:):)
 
Maus is haunting but excellent, the art is simple and harsh, the text brutally honest, the content disturbing. The creature analogy works perfectly, and it is quite possibly the most moving account of the horrors of the Holocaust that I have read.
 
I agree completely with Themistocles. I read it for a class on postmodern American lit and it made a huge impression on me. The combination of cartoon mice and total, unlivable horror can really get to you. Plus, Art has scenes where he's drawing his own life, where he and his father Vlad continue to be represented as mice. The story of their relationship is almost as compelling as Vlad's story of the Holocaust.
 
Oh, yes. I read Maus a few months ago, and it is one of those books that stay with you long after you have finished readnig it.
 
Okay, one of my long time targets have finally been acquired! I've finally bought the 2 volumes of Maus in softcover, and I'm so excited!

I've got a question - how would you pronounce Maus? Is it Mouse, or Ma-uz?

ds
 
I read both parts of Maus for a Holocaust history course I took during the Fall of 2001 (had to miss Bush's excellent speech on the Thursday after 9/11 cause my class was in the evening and I forgot to tape it). Anyways, it definately drew me into the human element of the Holocaust and how it not only affected survivor's, but also the children of the survivor's. If you ever get a chance to read both parts, I highly recommend it.
 
I absolutely loved Maus. I read it in my advanced placement US history class, and it was great. The drawings in it weren't the best, but I thought the idea was very original and I really felt like I could sympathize with all of the characters. It is very disturbing, but it's one of those that you feel like you're a different person when you put it down.
 
I think the whole concept with Maus is so unique and great. How it's not only the father's story but also the son's. I get the impression it's a very honest graphic novel. It's not often a comic story can make you cry...
Vladek Spiegelman- the way he's shown in this story- reminds me of my grandfather.
 
I finished Maus during my cyber-hiatus... very very strange book. In a good way. I hadn't expected the sub-plot of Art trying to wriggle the story out of his father actually being part of Maus.

Art was jailed? Hmm... gotta look that up.

Anyway, reflecting on the story, it seems amazing that such a terrible crime was *actually* perpetrated with such magnitude. It further reinforces my curiosity of how a person like Hitler can come to influence and command his army to actually commit this atrocity.

Btw, I had thought hard and long about the sequence where Vladek complains about the black dog sitting in the same car as him, and Art's wife comment about him being a racist. Somehow that scene bothers and amuses me at the same time.

ds

p.s. Did I say I enjoyed the book a lot? I plan on re-reading it, definitely.
p.p.s. I can't help but feel that Vladek couldn't resist at maybe embellishing some details - i.e. his first girlfriend who grabbed his leg, etc.
 
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