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A review by tophatgeo
Maus: A Survivor's Tale. My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
One of the most important books I've read in recent years.
It's genius getting to see both Vladek's history and the process of Art making the book. Maus managed to be so human and show how that the Spiegelman family and friends went through so many terrible events during the war. I think the worst part is knowing that this was far from an isolated case, Vladek's history is only a small fraction of the horrors people experienced.
One scene that really stuck out to me waswhen we see Vladek get emotional over Art's older comic about his mother's suicide. He doesn't have a heart of stone, but he is so selective about how he shows kindness to his own family. It's a tender moment for a man who's so distant with his family.
Characterwise, Vladek is so deeply flawed - he's rude, abrasive, grumpy and independant to a fault. But his stubborn and miserly nature ended up helping him during a war where those qualities were what he needed to survive. I like how honestly Vladek is portrayed. He is far from a saint and learning thatit's always been in his nature to be extremely frugal says so much about who he was even before the war.
That last scene is horrible but perfectly written to see how quickly he burns away any good will by saying he burnt the last remaining journals his wife wrote. Vladek is a man who cares so deeply for his possessions, but the one possession he ends up burning is the journals his late wife and son would care so deeply for. It's so sad.
I love how Art draws expressions of despair and contemplation, the faces on the characters are so simple but embody such raw emotions. The imagery particularly when you see a character distraught is so distressing that you just feel a portion of what they must have felt. The panelling was so clear and clever. It manages to make the delivery of such intense history more accessible whilst not downplaying the horrors that occured.
It's genius getting to see both Vladek's history and the process of Art making the book. Maus managed to be so human and show how that the Spiegelman family and friends went through so many terrible events during the war. I think the worst part is knowing that this was far from an isolated case, Vladek's history is only a small fraction of the horrors people experienced.
One scene that really stuck out to me was
Characterwise, Vladek is so deeply flawed - he's rude, abrasive, grumpy and independant to a fault. But his stubborn and miserly nature ended up helping him during a war where those qualities were what he needed to survive. I like how honestly Vladek is portrayed. He is far from a saint and learning that
I love how Art draws expressions of despair and contemplation, the faces on the characters are so simple but embody such raw emotions. The imagery particularly when you see a character distraught is so distressing that you just feel a portion of what they must have felt. The panelling was so clear and clever. It manages to make the delivery of such intense history more accessible whilst not downplaying the horrors that occured.