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A review of Maus: A Survivor's Tale

by Art Spiegelman

An innovative look at the Holocaust through the eyes of a mouse.

Reviewed by: Michelle Miller Detwiler
About Michelle Miller Detwiler

Maus: A Survivor's Tale At the height of my 17-year-old "alternative" comic book obsession, a friend lent me the graphic novel, "Maus: A Survivor's Tale," by Art Spiegelman. Prior to reading it, my only experiences with the Holocaust included reading "The Diary of Anne Frank" and history lessons in school.

Lest you think this is a light-hearted, superhero comic, before picking up the book, the reader must know that it is anything but. Spiegelman's story of his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor, won a Pulitzer Prize - a distinction rarely (if ever) bestowed upon a mere comic book.

"Maus" is unique, in that the tale of Vladek and his wife, Anna, is told in stark black-and-white pictures, and that the characters are not even human. Jewish people are mice, Germans are cats (Nazis), Americans are dogs, Polish people are pigs and the French are frogs (like you've never heard that one before). Appropriately, the cat-and-mouse game played between the Germans and the Jews is portrayed with the right balance of sympathy for the kind, humble mice and the justifiable anger at the uniformed cats. So many aspects of this book make it appealing. The artwork is detailed and complex. The style in which the tale is told deviates from what most of us are used to reading. The personification of the animals is unexpected, and it leaves so much open to the readers' imagination. Reading "Maus" is almost like watching a movie about the persecution of the Jews; however, unlike a movie, the graphic novel - like reading any book - leaves a lot more open to the imagination and for interpretation than would seeing a movie. With a book such as this, you can really feel the pain felt by the people who experienced it.

"Maus" is not without humor, of course; it has its light, sweet moments. However, it in no way makes Nazi Germany an appealing time or place in which to live. For mature young adults, this book would provide an excellent history lesson that is far more appealing than mere words in a history text. For those of us who have outgrown comic books, "Maus" is still appealing, and examines the Holocaust in a way that few other books or movies have done. A "box set" is now available that pairs "Maus" with its equally compelling sequel.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Maus: A Survivor's Tale

Copyright © by Michelle Miller Detwiler, 2002

Reviewed by Michelle Miller Detwiler:
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-- Maus: A Survivor's Tale - by Art Spiegelman
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