Back of Book: 

The first installment of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” (Wall Street Journal) and “the first masterpiece in comic book history” (The New Yorker).

A brutally moving work of art—widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever written—Maus recounts the chilling experiences of the author’s father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats.

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale, weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of one of history's most unspeakable tragedies. It is an unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Young Adult | Graphic Novel | Memoir | Historical 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

A very powerful and moving graphic memoir showcasing one of the toughest events in world history.

"Maus" is one of those books that every avid reader has heard of and seen in about a thousand different places. If you are into banned books at all, then you probably know that "Maus" is near the top of every banned book list. Knowing all this, I still put off reading this book for way too long.

For anyone that is unaware, "Maus" follows the author's (Art Spielgeman's) father, Vladek, who is a survivor of Hitler's Europe and Auschwitz. The story features Art as he interviews his dad about the events that he lived through with the intent of writing a comic about it.

I thought that the art style of this book would make me dislike it, but I honestly got over it fairly quickly. It seems oddly suitable for a story about the Holocaust and I have grown to appreciate it.

I am so glad that the Spielgeman's were willing to share this moving story. I deeply appreciate anyone who is willing to share their personal life stories, especially when they are going over such personal topic matter.

Overall, I found "Maus" exceeded my standards that I had going into this book. Even though the first volume leaves off right before it gets into the nitty gritty of Vladek's experience in Auschwitz, I still found myself totally engrossed in the story until the end. I'm looking forward to reading the second installment!

Back of Book: 

Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spieglman's Maus introduced readers to Vladek Spiegleman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiararity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive.

This second volume, subtitled And Here My Troubles Began, moves us from the barracks of Auschwitz to the bungalows of the Catskills. Genuinely tragic and comic by turns, it attains a complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium. Maus ties together two powerful stories: Vladek's harrowing tale of survival against all odds, delineating the paradox of daily life in the death camps, and the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. At every level this is the ultimate survivor's tale—and that too of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.

Book Number: Two (Last Book) 

Genre: Young Adult | Graphic Novel | Memoir | Historical 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

The second installment in the renowned graphic memoir, "Maus."

This volume showcases Vladek Spiegelman's harrowing experiences in Auschwitz, Birkenau, and on the run as he worked to escape the Nazis. This graphic novel once again shows the complicated relationship between Art (the author) and his father as they work through their complicated emotions with the past and each other.

It is hard to put into words the experience one gets when reading "Maus." Like any other Holocaust story, one feel almost hollow inside. Yet it is always so inspiring to see how much humanity can suffer through before giving up. Art and Vladek's relationship is a complicated one and it is so interesting and I can understand why his father often drove him crazy, but you can also see how much they care for one another.

Overall, "Maus" is a touching tale of human survival, keeping hope in times of true desperation, and the tale of a family's growth and healing. If you like me have heard of "Maus" but have neglected picking it up for too long, I would recommend giving it a go sooner rather than later.