Bibliographic Citation: Spiegelman, Art. (1986). Maus: a survivor’s tale.: my father bleeds history. New York: Pantheon Books.
Spielgeman, Art. (1991). Maus II: a survivor’s tale: and here my troubles began. New York: Pantheon Books.
Summary: This is a two volume biography of Vladek Spiegelman, Art’s father, who was a Polish Jew and a Holocaust survivor. The stories alternate between Vladek’s descriptions of Poland before and during World War II and his life in Rego Park in New York City. Part 1 introduces Vladek Speigelman and his life up until the gates of Auschwitz. Part 2 explains Vladek’s life in Auschwitz and after the war was over.
Reviews: “Gr 9 Up --These Pulitzer Prize-winning books use the seemingly innocent art form of the comic strip to underscore the horror and depravity of the Jewish Holocaust as well as examine Spiegelman's tenuous relationship with his father, a survivor of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. To great effect, the artist symbolically uses cats to characterize the Nazis who imprison and annihilate the Jewish "mice." A powerful companion to any World War II curriculum.” Fazioli, C. (2003). Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History/Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began (Book). School Library Journal, 49(11), 84. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
“YA- Told with chilling realism in an unusual comic-book format, this is more than a tale of surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effect of those events on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following generation. Each scene opens at the elder Spiegelman's home in Rego Park, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents' experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by the skillful graphics and suspenseful unfolding of the story.” Keeler, R. G. (1987). Maus (Book Review). School Library Journal, 33(9), 124. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
“Art Spiegelman has done it again. He has managed to take the simplest of art forms, the cartoon, and use to it to delineate complex and subtle relationships and themes. In his first work, Maus--recent winner of a special Pulitzer Prize -- Spiegelman outlined his father Vladek's harrowing experiences during the Holocaust. The entire book is done in cartoon format with the Jews portrayed as mice and the Nazis as predatory cats. In Maus 11, Spiegelman continues his father's story, but focuses also on his own personal need to establish a relationship with his father, who is an emotionally suffocating, physically aging, consummate user of guilt. Indeed, guilt plays a prominent role in this story- Vladek's guilt at having survived the camps, Spiegelman's guilt about his inability to care for his father the way he thinks he should, and the guilt they both share over the suicide of Anja, Spiegelman's mother. This is truly a story about survivors, survivors of wars, both mental and physical. Spiegelman never shrinks from his painfully difficult mix of emotions. The story is as haunting as the plaintive eyes of the mice on the book's cover. This is an important story for everyone to read; it gives insight not only into the experience of the Holocaust itself, but also into its far-reaching effects on the generation to follow. By using the medium of the cartoon, Spiegelman has offered those insights to readers who might not normally be exposed to them. In so doing, he has raised both the history of the Holocaust and the art form of the cartoon to heights they have not known before. Highly Recommended.(*)
(*) should be included in all collections.” Romm, D. (1992). Reviews: Nonfiction [Review of the book Maus II: a survivor’s tale; my father bleeds history. Book Report, 11(2), 56. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Personal Impressions: My older brother passed these graphic novels on to me, knowing that I plan to be a youth librarian and need the expose to a variety of books. I was pleased when I saw them on the Reading List. I chose to include both books in this blog post because I felt I can’t talk about one without the other. Together both volumes tell the tragedy and horror of the Holocaust and the struggles and hardships one survivor had to endure. It’s hard to even imagine what people had to go through. I thought the author’s idea to turn the characters into animals gives the reader a fresh perspective on the events that took place. In the book, the Jews are mice, the Nazi’s are cats, and the Americans are dogs. It’s a horribly tragic story on a horrific event.
Suggestions for Use: These novels are a great addition to a collection of books on the Holocaust. The graphic novelization gives a whole new perspective on such event and is one way to interest readers who might not otherwise be interested in such topics.
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