Maus: A Survivor’s Tale
For those who were concerned, sorry I’ve been away. It is finals week. Enough said.
About two months ago, I read Maus by Art Spiegelman (art spiegelman? I forget if he likes to be capitalized or not).
Anyway, it was an amazing book. It is a graphic novel (there are two volumes, sometimes put into one - so make sure you read both) that tells the tale of Mr. Spiegelman’s (Art’s dad) time in Auschwitz. Even though people are represented by animals (Americans are dogs, btw), to me it almost makes the story more powerful. Spanning from when his parents met, their first child, how they hid from the Nazis with the help of some sort of reluctant Polish folk, their time in the camps, how they got out, his mother’s death, and how Art and his father met now, these short novels cover a lot of ground and make a huge impact.
I would love to discuss the symbolism of the Nazis being cats and the Jewish people being mice with anyone that wants to. It has a lot of levels. Hi, I just took a literature theory class - please bear with me.
Fun side note: Maus first appeared in the magazine Raw, full of underground/alternative comics. I wish they still came out with new issues.
I’m going to have my future students read this book in class as part of a Holocaust unit.
