I saw an interview between Neil Gaiman and Art Spiegelman once, where Art spoke of Maus. Ever since then, I have kept an eye open for it. I planned on reading these two books over two months. I ended up reading them in a single morning.This is the true story of Art Spiegelman's father as a Jewish person in Poland, and eventually in Auschwitz, during World War II.
Even though Art Spiegelman chose to illustrate this graphic novel with animals instead of people, I did not feel distanced from the characters at all. In fact, because of their innocent appearance, I felt even closer. I also preferred the cruder art style in hindsight, as it did not 'beautify' the times. It was disturbing without being horrifying. I think the use of black and white also worked in its favour as it left the 'colour' up to the reader's imagination.
I also liked how Art Spiegelman told this story - multiple interviews between him and his father in the 'present' day. It added so much more humanity to the tale as they all became very real. There was no point in this where I felt that I was reading fiction. I also appreciated how Art struggled to portray his father, and how he wrestled with being honest and portraying him as he was, the negatively stereotypical Jewish man, Even though his father was clearly a flawed man, I could still admire him. It was also interesting seeing the creator in a book. Usually the artist is hiding. It was an unusual but fascinating perspective.I would love to get this for the school library. I think the way WW2 was covered really brings so much more home than purely reading 'what happened'. This broke my heart.
I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads (another example of enjoyment not being an adequate criteria to judge anything.)
These were the 62nd and 63rd books I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.
my college ya lit professor recommended maus. I feel like WWII books give us so much empathy. They are some of my favorite books. I'm glad you enjoyed maus!! Also, I am running the Book Blog awards this year for the 2nd year in a row and wanted to let you know nominations are open until October 31st . There are 15 awards up for grabs this year. You may nominate your own blog or ask your readers to nominate you. Readers vote on November 15th.
ReplyDeletePlease leave a comment on my blog or tweet me @emancipatedmimi or my co-host @QuratulainR to get the badge to add to your site. You may use it to encourage your readers to vote for your blog on Nov 15th. The awards are intended to be fun and exciting, and get your blog some exposure as well. Hope you will join =) I'm usually on Twitter so tweet me anytime with questions or comments =)
NOMINATE here: http://docs.google.com/forms/d/1kkntQ2xPpTaBcw-5OlDwUMMp1J11psxKS2Pvzi3TQ6k/viewform
VOTE HERE on Nov 15: http://docs.google.com/forms/d/1uKrnRIt0X7x489A3N60BC4InisHZRR8TVVFQBiCF12E/viewform
Maus is definitely a book that will create empathy. I want to get a copy for the school library, as I think it will benefit the kids in getting a much more realistic view of the war, than mere sterile facts do. Empathy all the way!
DeleteThank you for your suggestion for your blog award. I am not a person who is good at self-promotion though, and would feel absolutely uncomfortable nominating myself. I also do not think that my blog would fit into any of the categories available as I seem to be a bit eclectic and unfocused on genre. Thanks all the same. I hope your competition is successful. I will definitely be keeping an eye out on the blogs nominated.