The volumes are true many times over and as expected, heart-wrenching. Some here may be able to identify, if not in this generation but in the experiences of generations preceding. Spiegelman told his father's story and that of a father-son relationship following the Holocaust. In the 50's in NYC, but could be anytime and any place following WW2, arm tattoos were neither hidden nor flaunted. They simply *were*. While speech patterns and phrasing were familiar, my memory supplied the accents. Yes, I'm old enough to remember. The volumes speak for themselves and really, both are necessary for continuity.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
These books are graphic in telling the story the Holocaust and what lead up to it. If you think your child is prepared for such horrifying subject matter, be my guest. My children are all adults now but if they weren't, I would not allow them to read MAUS I or MAUS II until they were high school students. I would be sure to talk to them about what their thoughts on what they read were.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Someone recommended this .. book... comic... graphic novel? to me, and at first I was a bit hesitant. But I found myself enthralled by the tale, and the various animal species representing the different ethnic groups of Europe was fascinating. The author also inserts another storyline, where he describes how he acquired the story from his father. This is often interesting, yet sometimes a little too... I don't want to say self-congratulatory, but something like that; to a lesser extent. I enjoyed reading it and couldn't put it down.
Deceptively powerful, this graphic novel is modern story telling at its full potential. Cats play with mice, dogs betray both; the cats are Nazis running Auschwitz, the hapless mice the prisoners, and the dogs are Poles trying to navigate the absurdity without forfeiting their own lives. The narrator is also frank about what a pain in the ass his father is. Like a rat the father survives, but is not a man anyone would want to spend much time with. The ending to this two-volume set is not as effective as the beginning. It is rushed and very nearly shortchanges the reader's interest in the characters. It disposes of the well conceived characters through the cliched device of photographs, relegating three-dimensional characters to two-dimensional images, which is rather bathetic. Weak endings are another aspect of modern story telling that this novel exemplifies. But Maus I and II deserve their Pulitzer Prize.Read full review
Even though it appears to be in the format of a comic book, there is nothing childish or Elementary about these two books. Absolutely Grim subject matter. A must-read for all students of World War II or the Holocaust.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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