Books : Maus: v. 1 & 2: A Survivor's Tale - My Father Bleeds History/Here My Troubles Began: v. 1 & 2

Rating: - Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!
Once you open this book it is nearly impossible to stop. Even people who normally do not like books will love this one. It's a comic but not comical.. (unless your sense of humour is very very dark). It let's you experience the horrors of the holocaust more realistically than any other book or film I have seen about it.

I love this book and could not recommend it more highly. Enjoy.

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Rating: - Are you trying to avoid it?
I had known of this book for about a year when i finally decided to buy it. I was put off by the slightly dodgy artwork and the very serious nature of the plot which to me is not what comics are about. Anyway,I wanted to read it so i could come on hear and rant about how it is an over-rated waste of time but I cant. The art isnt perfect i agree but it has its charms and as you read the story you really do get into the simplistic nature of it,it works for this,it doesnt distract from the story which over stylised art would. The story is VERY well written and everything i read totally shocked and moved me.
The jist of my review is - if you are put off by the art but you liked schindlers list or have a fascination with hearing about the holocaust from a personal perspective then you have to read this book. It would get 5 stars from me if I genuinely felt that everyone would like the artwork but I know thats not gonna happen but everyone who isnt an anti-semite must read this story!

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Rating: - Masterpiece
Only graphic novel to date to win the Pulitzer Price.

That should be compelling enough to endear anyone to this masterwork.

The drawing isn't perhaps as expressive as that of Sacco, but the novelty in Maus not only comes from the controversial bestialization of the characters (Poles are pigs, Jews are mice, Germans are cats, etc) but also from the timeline jumps that mix the chilling tale of Vladek's survival of Auschwitz and the author's process of discovery and acceptance of his father's personality as he is retold the survivor's tale.

So while we are presented with the horror's faced by Vladek, the book also deals with the strained relationship between the author and his father, his father's second wife and the author's converted wife.

One can only praise Spiegelman's honesty at the less than perfect portray of the old age Vladek and his own insecurities.

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Rating: - Searing honesty
"Maus" is an amazing accomplishment and a rightly revered classic. What I admire most about its narrative is its honesty. If Spielberg ever adapted this book as a film, it would become a simplistic, black-and-white affair: one-dimensional Nazi aggressors stamping on one-dimensional Jewish victims. Instead, Spiegelman has opted to respect our intelligence and throw the doors wide open on this repellent slice of human history. He pulls no punches and tells his father's story with abject truth - even when sometimes portraying the Jewish community in a less than flattering light.

In the unflinching pages of "Maus", Jews betray Jews. Jews steal from Jews. Jews discriminate against non-Jews. I sat up with a shock when Vladek, the tale's central holocaust survivor, displays unbelievable racism towards a black man. Having lived through unspeakable persecution, he speaks of African-Americans in the same way that a Nazi would speak of a Jew. Also, in his old age, Vladek has come to resemble the Nazi stereotype of the "miserly old Jew". This adds incredible power and depth to this already complex story, throwing up countless questions on morality, racial identity and the grey area between good and evil.

It is a staggeringly brave book and its courage has sealed its success. I only wish more artists out would get some guts and show the world some work that really matters.

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Rating: - Rupert in Nazi germany
I have respect for the author in that it was brave to explore the subject of the holocaust in comic book form- quite an original thing to do. His story is an important one to tell. However, this does not take away the fact that Spiegelman can't draw. The art is in black and white with no rendering and Spiegelman's style is flat and bland.
In this comic book, the jews are mice and the Nazis are cats. The people have animal heads and human bodies-like Rupert bear! That is the last thing you want to think about when reading a book about the holocaust.
And as a person who has experienced having mice in my house (mouse droppings in the cutlery drawer is not pleasant) I find it hard to sympathise with any cartoon mouse.