Ari's Review
Art Spiegelman's Maus is a creative and innovative way to portray the story of The Holocaust. Spiegelman's images are extremely captivating and very clever. In fact, it is the images that really make this book worthwhile. While the text and the story line seem a bit basic to me, and that it doesn't delve to deeply into emotion, the book as a whole provides a great look into one person's story of survival. The images that Spiegelman uses to stand in for various groups (i.e. mice as Jews, Cats as Nazis, and Pigs as non-Jews) is ingenious and tells a story of its own complete with stereotypes. This text as a comic book has so much to talk about and the book moves very fast through its various parts...almost too fast sometimes. While the details are in the pictures, sometimes I felt that there was not enough emotion in the book.
The relationships in the book are also worth talking about because they are very complex and real. The struggle between father and son to find common ground while other issues keep them from growing close is something many can relate with. Additionally the relationships that Vladek goes through in order to survive Poland and Nazi Germany are also great examples of the struggle between people with power and between people without it.
This book is teachable in the middle school grades, 7th and 8th, with a potential for 6th. It introduces the concepts of The Holocaust in a lighter way than other books I've read and distances itself from the emotional terror. The story is captivating and the fact that it's a graphic novel allows for so many details regarding imagery to be discussed. Overall it is a great book for younger grades and there is a lot that can be done with Spiegelman's use of imagery.
The relationships in the book are also worth talking about because they are very complex and real. The struggle between father and son to find common ground while other issues keep them from growing close is something many can relate with. Additionally the relationships that Vladek goes through in order to survive Poland and Nazi Germany are also great examples of the struggle between people with power and between people without it.
This book is teachable in the middle school grades, 7th and 8th, with a potential for 6th. It introduces the concepts of The Holocaust in a lighter way than other books I've read and distances itself from the emotional terror. The story is captivating and the fact that it's a graphic novel allows for so many details regarding imagery to be discussed. Overall it is a great book for younger grades and there is a lot that can be done with Spiegelman's use of imagery.