Maus and Art Spiegelman
 

Maus, for those who don't know, is a non-fiction graphic novel depicting the story of the author's father, who survived the Holocaust and Auschwitz. Unusually, it's depicted using primarily anthropomorphic mice, cats, and assorted other animals depending on a character's nationality. A pretty harrowing story, and supposedly one of the books that made the current graphic novel movement what it is today.

So the author of Maus, Art Spiegelman, gave a lecture at my college the other day. Filled the auditorium, which was no surprise. Yesterday I got to have lunch with him, along with a number of other students. After hearing him speak, I'm definitely going to have to look into not only some of his other works, including his more recent In the Shadow of No Towers, but the work of some of the people he mentioned.

So. Discuss. Who's read Maus or other works by Spiegelman? What did you think about it?

I just finished Maus in my Comic Book making class and I was very impressed! The story was touching and at times disturbing, but thoroughly moving. I enjoyed how the story was told, not just in flashbacks (which would have worked, with him speaking directly with his father at the beginning and end), but with the interviews being an integral part of his experiences. It made the section with him as a human in a mask that much more powerful. I have yet to look into more of Spiegelman's work, but I fully intend to. Also, the Gypsy Moth Gypsies were a stroke of genius!

It is ironic that by portraying the different groups as animals, he really showed their most "human" characteristics. Spiegelman is a genius- I borrowed this from a friend who was taking a class on the Holocaust years ago and loved it/ have recommended it ever since.