It is called a comic, but you won't be laughing at this one
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Wed, 15 June 2005
by: Australian Ninja
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In the world of comics few works strand head and shoulders above the rest. Part comic, part biography, part history lesson, and part labor of love; Maus is one of those works.
Basically Maus is a series of conversations between Art Spiegelman and his Father Vladek Spiegelman told in comics form. During the two books Vladek Spiegelman recounts in detail the events of his life during WWII and the rise of the Nazis.
In the comics, Jews are depicted as mice, Germans as cats. They look like humans except for the heads.
A gripping, powerful re-creation of the events of that time is contained in Maus.
The conversations are “real life” conversations in which Art Spiegelman talks / interviews his father continuously for several weeks at a time, learning about his own family history in the process. Maus chronicles Vladek’s life from the beginning of WWII until his retirement years. Including the horrors he survived as a Jewish man in a concentration camp under German rule.
The artwork is simple, yet detailed. Scenes depicted include Jews being led to the gas chamber, or ovens, Polish people being shot and thrown into pits. Nothing is overly graphic or macabre in the artwork. The scenes are included - not for shock value – but because they actually happened in the presence of the authors father.
The reality of these events is driven home to the reader with methodical detail. Names, places, clothing are accurate as possible. This is a comic that will affect anyone who reads it. Maus is not lighthearted entertainment nor recommended for young children.
What is evident in Maus is that this is more than a comic-book. These are more than pictures in little boxes. These events actually happened, affecting the lives of millions of people. Under military order thousands upon thousands of living, thinking, breathing, human beings were herded like cattle. Out of their homes and into ‘work’ camps. Their families separated, businesses sold or taken over. And slowly – after the lies and deception – they were slaughtered ruthlessly. Few dared escape.
In Maus we see human beings at their best and utter worst.
Vladek Spiegelman survived all this and lived to tell the tale to his son, and his son told the tale to the world.
Vladek’s generosity and compassion shine through in numerous scenes. Even when he had nothing, his business taken from him, half his family dead, separated from his dearly loved wife…. he always had something to give. When the Germans started taking over his town he gave Asylum to others, later he would be the one finding new places to hide. During the concentration camps a crumb of bread, a button for a shirt freely given, could turn a stranger into a friend. These acts all came from a man who, in his later years, was considered a miser. A man who hoarded everything long after the war was over. A man of strength and compassion. A survivor.
The full titles of the books are:
Book one - Maus: A Survivors Tale, My Father Bleeds.
Book two – Maus: A Survivors Tale, And Here My Troubles Began.
Individually each book tells its own compelling story and can be read alone. Together they form a larger story. One that is fulfilling and enlightening to experience.
Spiegelman kept the art and text simple; they are not exciting to look at. They convey the authors’ message effectively with brevity and conciseness in glorious black and white and they do it well.
by: Australian Ninja
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Maus is better than good. It’s damn good. Read it. | |
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