Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History

Written and Illustrated by Art Spiegelman

A graphic novel for readers in grades 7 and up reviewed by Hugo

    

Maus I is the first half of a hand drawn comic book based on the true story of a man named Vladek Spiegelman, the father of the book's author, Art Spiegelman. The book beautifully captures Vladek’s story, which is about how he, as a Jewish man, survived the tragic events of the Holocaust and World War II.

 

The way in which the author tells his father's story is very unique. He portrays humans as different animals. For example, he draws Jewish people as mice, the Polish as pigs, and Nazis as cats.

 

As one might imagine, some scenes described in Maus I are very disturbing. But, the book also succeeds in shocking readers with terrifyingly realistic depictions of its events, even though one might expect the story to be much more subtle due to the comic's subject matter. However, with Spiegelman’s incredible ability to perfectly recreate the tales of his father, the reader is left perplexed and wanting to read more.

 

Chapter one begins with Art Spiegelman meeting up with Vladek in Rego Park before returning to his father’s home to discuss how he wants to learn about and record his story. Vladek's story begins with him meeting Art's mother, Anja. There is some drama surrounding this. Eventually, Vladek moves to Sosnowiec, the city where Anja lives.

 

In the next chapter, the tone of the story begins to shift into something a bit more grave with the discovery of Anja having severe depression, as well as the signs of the beginning of the Holocaust and the mention of war.

 

In the third chapter, and the majority of those that follow, the story takes a turn for the worse. After enlisting himself to go to the frontlines of the war, Vladek is taken as a prisoner of war, and Anja is captured by the Gestapo. At the end of the book, they both end up in the same concentration camp in Auschwitz.

 

Both the details of reality that are embedded into Maus I and its awe-striking plot will certainly leave you amazed.