Meredith's review
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
I've been neglecting goodreads for so long that I'm now faced with updating months of books, so here goes. You would think that the layer of removal involved in portraying a Holocaust story through cartoon animals would detract from the emotions it provokes, but Maus would prove you wrong. What makes it really unique is the second storyline, told alongside, of the author's attempts to maintain a meaningful relationship with his father, whose story he is relating. Holocaust stories rarely extend past the time immediately following WWII, so it was interesting to see how his father grew and coped and to debate to what extent his past experiences shaped his current strengths and weaknesses. It all struck me as a very honest account, down to the author depicting his struggle over portraying his father in a realistic light, despite his shortcomings. I have heard a lot about schools using this book to teach the Holocaust to younger (elementary-age) students, and I think it's a great idea. The...more
