A review by sknappy1
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

A very difficult, but very powerful read. The artist details his father's experiences as a Holocaust survivor, as told directly by his father. What I appreciate it about this was the breadth that was covered. While Anne Frank's experience focuses on hiding, and Elie Wiesel's focuses on the concentration camps, this this book covers a broader range of everything. You see and experience the gradual buildup of everything from the beginning before the problems started and then how everything got progressively worse. You see how Vladek experienced losing his successful business, to having to hide, to being in the ghetto, all the scheming required to get by, to being in a concentration camp, what happened after they got out of the camp, etc. You also learn about so many other people's experiences based on his descriptions of what happened to people that he knew. This book really made cry a few times, so go in prepared. It starts off pretty easy, but later on there are some real gut-wrenching moments, but that's the reality of how it was. I also appreciate how the author details the difficult relationship he has with his father.
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