Maus

This is the first comic-book I've ever read and I love it.

I have found it very difficult to put Maus I down, and I look forward to starting the second. The Spiegleman family's tale of survival is quite captivating, especially since I know that each word of it is true. The drawings and the text are very detailed, down the Vladek's Eastern European-American dialect to the finest black stipled background.

One thing I especially like about this book are the different levels of story lines it contains. I feel as though this book's narrations are very personal, raw, and put each character in a vulnerable position. I am thankful that Art Spiegleman has portrayed each character honestly, even if that meant that his father would come across as a caricature. Primarily, there is the story of Vladek Spiegleman, a Polish Jew trying to escape the Nazi Reich. His story is told in first person through his son, Art, whose personal story also comes through. We also learn about Mala, Vladek's second wife who resents Vladek and the way he treats her. I am a bit disappointed, however, because it seems as though the only story that is missing is that of Vladek's first wife, Anja. While Anja is described in great detail and is constant throughout the book, I wish I could hear more from her perspective. It is mentioned several times in the book that Anja kept extensive journals during the war that were destroyed or lost and so she wrote new journals recounting her struggle during the war when she arrived in America. I wonder if these journals were ever found, and if Art Speigleman ever had the chance to read them. I'm interested to hear Anja's view; it may help readers, and her son, understand her suicide.

Also, I'm glad that the two last books of the semester are books that I enjoy immensely.