Maus

Maus, by Art Spiegelman, is probably one of the best pieces of work that I have read so far in the semester. At first glance, I thought this was gonna be just a graphic novel about the holocaust with a visual gimmick (Jews being mice and the Germans as cats). But I was glad to find out that Maus is a very deep piece of work in so many aspects. The art style is simple but enjoyable and does a fantastic job flowing from panel to panel, the storytelling is engrossing and unique, and you can feel attached to these characters.

When discussing Maus in class a very important question was brought up which made me appreciate this book much more than I originally had: Just what is Maus’s story about? What makes Maus so intriguing is that you’re not just following a holocaust story. Instead, the reader is witnessing a story about a man being told his father’s struggles through the holocaust and through his point of view, and in turn trying to make a graphic novel out of it. Now, it is very important to note that the fact that the holocaust sections are being told through his grandfather is a big deal to the main character. Artie feels that it’s important to view this from an objective angle and he insists on reading through his late mother’s diaries to get her side. Needless to say, he is angered when he learns his grandfather has disposed of them. Because of this, Maus becomes something much deeper, and tells us a story about the main character and his struggles with his and his grandfather’s relationship.

Maus is such a visually striking book. Depicting each nationality as different animals is such a clever device. At one point, Artie’s grandfather and his wife are in hiding and because of these they, as mice, are seen wearing pig masks. I thought this was so clever because it’s a visual representation of what they really had to go through: Hide who they are in order to survive.