Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Maus - A Graphic Novel Telling of The Holocaust

I have to say that while reading the captivating graphic novel of Maus by Art Spiegelman it held very different approach to a historical topic, that being the holocaust. As a person really big into both history and literature this had the best of both worlds (or genres) put in together nicely into one book. Now, as someone who knows people that came into this country in times of war (Bosnian war, Cambodian Civil War, Rwandan Civil War, and The Syrian War that has been going on since 2011) the way the father and son were portrayed when telling the story were very similar of both friends and children I knew who immigrated from war interacted and behaved. I say this in the sense of an outsider seeking on their own to understand their story, whether it is of the experience of war or their immigration. The conversations between the characters while the father was recalling his youth just reminded me a lot of those chats I would have with my friends who have fled from war driven countries. Asking questions, being told the tales of their lives and youth, and of course sometimes there would be emotions both of anger, sadness, and joy.


The style was very out of what is commonly seen in comics, a "clean-cut" smooth style. While it did maintain a clean look it, the artist gave it a very bold and brave look that matched well with the story's topic, that topic being the World War II holocaust. To compare it to what the son said in the first chapter, "it makes it more real".

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