Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Maus, historia de un sobreviviente: Y aquí comenzaron mis problemas by Art Spiegelman

43 reviews

acoelomate's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Violence, and War

nikexistiertnik's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Torture, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Grief

bookgirllife's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale takes a deeper dive into Spiegelman’s relationship with his father while unpacking Vladek’s time at Auschwitz. Spiegelman’s storytelling is so poignant and emotive, while the narrative style is rooted in authenticity.

The writing style follows on from Vol. 1, Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Upon reading the complete collection, I stand firmly that this was the most accessible history book about the Holocaust that I’ve ever encountered. It is easily comprehendible while conveying the emotional impact of the Jewish experience of the Holocaust.

Maus II gives the reader a greater insight into the author’s life, post-publication of Vol. 1. I thought this was a very interesting perspective to add to the story of the lasting effects of the Holocaust on the Jews of today, and how generational trauma can affect people that weren’t directly traumatised by the events of the war. It lends an understanding of the fractured relationship Spiegelman has with his father. Vladek’s story is horrifying, as a reader. I can only imagine how much more horrifying it would be as his child.

Family and love are actually greater themes in this collection than I had first given credit to, and it is further highlighted in this volume, which spends more time “in the present” (i.e. when Speigelman was writing the comic). Not only do we see that through the father-son relationship that underpins the whole collection, but we also witness it through the dread that Vladek and Anja endure not knowing if the other is alive during their time forced apart at Auschwitz. The love they had for each other was powerful and perhaps the only form of hope available to them during that harrowing time.

I don’t think it is possible to overstate how moving this graphic novel, this collection as a whole, was.  Maus is powerful in an almost unsuspecting way. Of course any literature about World War 2 is bound to be heavy, but seeing the events of the Holocaust through the lens of comic strips is a lot more hard-hitting than I would have ever expected from the genre. I am pleased to say this shattered every expectation I could have held. I would highly recommend everyone read the complete collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and War

Minor: Death of parent

onamoonbeam's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

that's a narrative!! that's a real story. god

an excellent continuation of the original. i really liked the chapter where you zoom out to see spiegelman sitting on top of a pile of mouse bodies and being questioned by interviewers. the rest of the chapters... seeing one man survive by his skills intelligence and luck and then cutting to how he dies is...sobering? somewhat inspiring? tragic? it definitely feels different to other holocaust narratives i've seen. stories must be told even if there is no just ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Antisemitism, Child death, and Genocide

Moderate: Racism

leweylibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Violence, War, Antisemitism, Death, and Gore

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

this book deserves more than 5 stars for its historical and moral values, but it gets 3 stars from me when considered from a "like" standpoint. the historical events and details depicted are sickening and horrific, where death is all-encompassing. the drawings and the metaphors are impactful and utilized very effectively. i also admire the way the author portrays his father, a complex man whose resourcefulness, wit, and luck saved him, but whose thoughts and habits in his aging years can be frustrating. th second volume of maus is an important work of both art and history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Death, Murder, Genocide, Violence, Confinement, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Suicide, War, and Grief

kengiedamali's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Child death, Excrement, War, Antisemitism, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

tabula_risa's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, and Genocide

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, and War

bekkabergamot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

<i>Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began</i> picks up where the first book left off with Art Spiegelman's father being captured by the Nazis.  Like the first book, the storyline jumps between the author's relationship with his aging father and his act of writing the book alongside his father's story of surviving the death camps of the Holocaust.  The juxtaposition between father and son showcases that trauma is intergenerational.  

Something that really struck me by these books is the moments of humor that break through the agonizing pain and tension of the story.  Ultimately, Art's father's irritating and endearing behavior can be seen as all of our elderly relatives (complaining about ailments and being stuck in his seemingly pointless routines).  If anything it depicts a truth everyone should know, but people prove that it is sadly not a universal truth: these atrocities happened to real people.  Real people had their loved ones, their property, and their family mementos stripped away from them simply because others decided that they were inferior, inhuman.  

These books should be read together.  I truly believe that the medium of the graphic novels offers an insight that more traditional books I have read by other survivors (or in this case the child of a survivor) are unable to offer.  This should be mandatory reading.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Antisemitism, Genocide, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Suicide

quirkko24's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Religious bigotry, Death, Torture, Murder, War, Violence, Suicide, Racism, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Antisemitism