Maus

by: Art Spiegelman

     As soon as I started reading this book I could not put it down, I read the whole thing in one setting. The way that the narrative is driven forward by interactions with Arts' Grandfather motivates me to keep going because I fell like I am getting two stories in one book. His use of personification in the use of Mice for Jews and Cats for Nazis is pretty straightforward along the lines of a stronger opponent taking advantage of a weaker prey. I think his use of Pigs for the Polish could be a little of the authors own prejudices coming though. This book is very well done because it relates so much of this story with such few text, but there were times when all I was doing was reading the text and the images were just in my peripherals. 

     The subject matter was mostly about Art's Grandfathers experience during WWII and how he was persecuted for being a Jew. There is a segment of the book that describes very well how people just don't understand themselves in a lot of ways; Arts' Grandfather does not want to pick up a Black man, a "Shvartsher" hitchhiking because he was afraid that the Black man would steal all of the groceries. It is amazing to me that someone who has gone through everything in life that Arts' Grandfather did that he could still be a generalist when it comes to race. 

     Both Maus I and II are now sitting on my bookshelf. I enjoyed them so much that I went out and bought them.