Graphic Novel: Maus I & Maus II by Art Spielgelman
The Maus graphic novels are two of the most well-regarded publications in the genre. I think they are well deserving of their reputations.
Others may disagree with me about the use of mice to represent the Jews and cats to represent the Germans though. For me, these stories are told in such straightforward manners that the use of surrogates seems unnecessary.
I wonder if the novels’ impacts and effects would be changed had Art Spielgelman simply drawn humans.
With that said, the stories told in Maus are amazing. The writer’s father was a WWII concentration camp survivor. One part of the book tells the father’s story—from pre-Nazi invasion to his eventual liberation.
The second part of the book depicts the lives of the survivor father and artist son during the creation of these works.
These two times are intertwined in the narrative. We learn more about each time period’s characters as we go.
It’s an interesting interplay. Do the characteristics that make one able to survive the holocaust become less admirable in every day life?
In one section, a character asks: If we equate surviving with winning, does that mean that everyone who didn’t make it through—lost? Do we blame them for not being smart enough, sly enough, and desperate enough to survive?
Holocaust tales are amazing. It’s hard to think of them as nonfiction except we know that they are.
The Maus series does not disappoint. It’s powerful and a good fit for the genre.