Maus is the only comic book to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. It tells the real-life story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, and his son, a cartoonist (the author), coming to terms with his father’s story. Maus is actually two books – A Survivor’s Tale and My father bleeds history. My edition is the complete one combining both these books into a single one. It reads better back to back honestly. I wouldn’t buy and read the books separately.
As expected, the story is horrific. Although this is a slim book, it’s incredibly hard to read. The scenes of torture and death at Auschwitz were extremely disturbing.
But the book isn’t all horror. There are some extremely humorous and relatable moments—especially those with Art and his father, Vladek. Vladek is a tough guy, shrewd, street-smart, and a go-getter. He uses all his wit and guile to navigate living in hiding during the war and eventually in Auschwitz. I was amazed at young Vladek. Was there anything the man couldn’t do? From shoe-making to tin roof-making, he did everything possible to keep himself and his wife safe.
Art feels guilty about having such an easy life when his parents went through a hell he couldn’t even imagine. Even so, Art and Vladek have a pretty normal father-son relationship. I felt so bad for Vladek when Art treated him poorly, but it was a normal father-son relationship in that sons don’t always treat their fathers the best.
Funnily, I could relate to old Vladek a lot. In some ways, he’s like my father-in-law – shrewd with money and sometimes annoying and dominating, especially in his relationship with his second wife, Mala 😬. I don’t have the words to describe the toxicity! I have to say, though, that my FIL is not such an unbearable prick as old Vladek!
These humorous, relatable, domestic sequences are juxtaposed against the horrors of the war, making it seem even more horrifying, if that’s possible.
If you noticed some of the language in the comic strips I shared was off, it’s because Vladek speaks English that way, and Art chose to retain his words as they are, for the most part.
Towards the end of the book, there is a picture of Vladek just after he was released from the camps, and it is heartbreaking to put a face to all that misery. Somehow, it makes it more real than when Vladek is just a mouse in the comic.
Truly gripping and moving!
