Maus, Art Spiegelman

I read Maus in one sitting, and didn't feel good afterwards.

This isn't a light book. Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of his father's experiences as a Holocaust survivor is one of the three graphic novels (along with Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Moore's Watchmen) which brought the genre fame and respect as a form of art. Unlike the other two, however, which deconstruct the heroism of superheroes (which were prevalent in the genre until this point), Maus is semi-autobiographical, and (excepting the animal metaphor running throughout) realistic.

Arguably, this is as important a book about the Holocaust as Levi's If This Is A Man and Wiesel's Night, even though it is a graphic novel, and not a book written by an actual survivor - in fact, these are reasons why I'd suggest this book is important. Unlike many Holocaust survivor's tales, this isn't a first hand experience. Instead, it deals with something perhaps even more important - how the world, and the people involved, have been affected later on in life. The world has apparently recovered, and the Holocaust is something half-a-century old. People have moved on, to the point where Spiegelman wonders whether he feels guilty that he didn't go through the Holocaust himself. Yet when his father describes the atrocities he witnessed, he still has to stop and say 'Jesus'. The Holocaust still has this power, even years later.

This is also the power this book holds. Spiegelman's incredible minimalist artwork turns from comforting and homely in the earlier stages of the book to claustrophobic, dark and hopeless, a little like Raymond Briggs' When The Wind Blows. It is short, and quicker to read perhaps than other books on the subject, but it is still difficult to read - even now, when photographs and descriptions are readily available on the internet.

Perhaps part of this is to do with the humanity Spiegelman builds up in the book. His father is a real person, contradictory and bigoted but mostly caring, and he introduces the people he knew with a similar depth and complexity - which makes it even more difficult when he tells us, matter-of-factly, that he never saw them again.

It is difficult to write about a book like this, because the power it holds can't be transferred in ways other than reading the book yourself. It should be read in one sitting, although it's not a nice experience. It's one of the few books which will stick with you long after you've finished it.

Maus can be bought here