Book of the Week: Maus

24 May 2014

I found out about Maus from reading lists of top graphic novels. After reading it, I can definitely see why Art Spiegelman won a Pulitzer Prize for it. The subject matter is heavy. The book is about a comic artist’s relationship with his dad who survived Auschwitz. He asks his dad about how he survived as a Jew during World World II in Poland. I would put this book in the same ballpark as Schindler’s List. The writing is great, I kept wanting to read page after page. I didn’t pay attention to the art style as much as I did to the words. Usually people like reading about happy things, but I can’t really say it made me as sad and depressed as an account of the Holocaust could have. It is a much more human story. Maus is worth reading as a reminder. People complain about having 1st world problems. After reading Maus, I think it is hard for anyone to complain about even 3rd world problems. If you’re alive, you already have it pretty good.