Scan barcode
cataquack's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Reading this for the first time since reading it in high school (which is the same as having never read it before). What could I possibly say about this that hasn't been said a million times. As an adult you really appreciate how much of this is dedicated to Art's difficult relationship with his father, which he really doesn't pull any punches with. Like all lauded comic works referred to as "graphic novels" to differentiate them from those low-class funny books, Maus was originally published in a serialized format before being collected, which just goes to show that the term is a load of malarkey!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Genocide, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Racial slurs, War, and Racism
izziek's review against another edition
Holy smokes. I was expecting this to be intense but not this intense.
There were defo tears.
There were defo tears.
ilonakhl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
cubanpete's review against another edition
Reading about holocaust was never going to be easy but Spiegelman kept a very light touch, whilst at the same time not trivialising the atrocities. The story loops in an out of his father's account, with the secondary story being about Art & his father's relationship. That and the fact that it's a comic book, with nationals of different countries represented as different types of animals, creates a bit of distance to the events, and at that distance it is possible to look at them without burning out on horror and grief. I also loved how unflinchingly realistic the portrayal of Art's father is. At one point in the book Art says to his partner that he's worried that his father looks like an unflattering stereotype of a Jew. It teaches us to hold different ideas in our head at the same time (his father is an unpleasant man but also a victim), a skill we need so badly.
jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
Devastating. The story of Art trying to come to terms with the experiences of his parents, Vladek and Anja, during the Holocaust is the kind of story that stays with you and haunts you.