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lorenalorenzo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
lizzcogan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Incredibly important book with a very deep message. I highly recommend anyone to read so they may fully understand what people went through during the Nazi occupation and all the horrible things that occurred to them.
sarahbc93_'s review against another edition
4.0
So, I had seen pieces of this graphic novel around before but I had never actually read it in it’s entirety before, so I decided to rectify that.
Now, I have to say that initially it wasn’t all that I was expecting it to be. I think I expected it to focus more on Vladek’s time in Auschwitz but instead, it focuses on his life leading up to the moment he is sent to the camp with his wife Anja. I don’t know why I expected it to start there rather than end there, but I quickly got over that surprise and focused on the novel as a whole.
And I don’t think I will ever read or watch any piece of media about the Holocaust and the lead up to it without being truly horrified and upset by what happened and how ordinary people were being treated by those who had previously been their neighbours and friends. I will never understand it.
The illustrations within this graphic novel also really added to the experience of seeing the lives of Vladek and Anja unfolding. They were so emotional even though you are essentially looking at a picture of a mouse, it just pulls at you in ways that you don’t expect until you are right in the middle of it.
It’s also interesting to see Vladek as an old man telling this story to his son, especially juxtaposed with his interactions with his new wife about money and things like that. You can see the connections forming between what he went through and the person he became, and realise that he never really lets go of the trauma, which again is understandable.
I’m approaching the second instalment with a little bit of trepidation as I’m sure it’s going to be just as impactful and harrowing.
Now, I have to say that initially it wasn’t all that I was expecting it to be. I think I expected it to focus more on Vladek’s time in Auschwitz but instead, it focuses on his life leading up to the moment he is sent to the camp with his wife Anja. I don’t know why I expected it to start there rather than end there, but I quickly got over that surprise and focused on the novel as a whole.
And I don’t think I will ever read or watch any piece of media about the Holocaust and the lead up to it without being truly horrified and upset by what happened and how ordinary people were being treated by those who had previously been their neighbours and friends. I will never understand it.
The illustrations within this graphic novel also really added to the experience of seeing the lives of Vladek and Anja unfolding. They were so emotional even though you are essentially looking at a picture of a mouse, it just pulls at you in ways that you don’t expect until you are right in the middle of it.
It’s also interesting to see Vladek as an old man telling this story to his son, especially juxtaposed with his interactions with his new wife about money and things like that. You can see the connections forming between what he went through and the person he became, and realise that he never really lets go of the trauma, which again is understandable.
I’m approaching the second instalment with a little bit of trepidation as I’m sure it’s going to be just as impactful and harrowing.
aryareads's review against another edition
5.0
So the first thing i notice when it comes to any comic or graphic novel is the art work. Speigelman is a cartoonist, a very talented one at that. I really liked the artwork and thought it was beautiful.
The story was a lot more than just a retelling of a man’s life during the Holocaust. It was also a story about Art and his father’s relationship. This collection goes from the past retelling Vlad’s life to the present were Art and his father and other family are dealing with each other. I really liked that about it. Art and his father were never really that close as he was growing up it appeared. As his father’s story was told from beginning to end Art started to appreciate his father more and started to understand his point of view.
The story itself is illustrated so the jews as mice and the Nazi as cats. A common analogy that makes since. As for the story in itself it is really hard for me to rate or critique it because it is real. These events mentioned in this book are real one hundred percent something that happened to someone and how they remembered it and to me that is the greatest thing anyone can give someone else.
This book was everything the Holocaust was dark, gripping, and shocking. Even if your not a comic/graphic novel fan you should pick this up and give it a try. I whole heartily loved this book and it has become one of my favorites.
More reviews at my blog AryaTheFangirl
The story was a lot more than just a retelling of a man’s life during the Holocaust. It was also a story about Art and his father’s relationship. This collection goes from the past retelling Vlad’s life to the present were Art and his father and other family are dealing with each other. I really liked that about it. Art and his father were never really that close as he was growing up it appeared. As his father’s story was told from beginning to end Art started to appreciate his father more and started to understand his point of view.
The story itself is illustrated so the jews as mice and the Nazi as cats. A common analogy that makes since. As for the story in itself it is really hard for me to rate or critique it because it is real. These events mentioned in this book are real one hundred percent something that happened to someone and how they remembered it and to me that is the greatest thing anyone can give someone else.
This book was everything the Holocaust was dark, gripping, and shocking. Even if your not a comic/graphic novel fan you should pick this up and give it a try. I whole heartily loved this book and it has become one of my favorites.
More reviews at my blog AryaTheFangirl
dogmomirene's review against another edition
4.0
Plenty of reviews have been written on this book. What I was struck by the most was the authenticity of the conversations. Not just between father and son, but also the father recounting conversations from the late 1930's through WWII. Towards the end of the graphic novel, the father tells Art, his son, that Art will be famous like Walt Disney. Art leaves the room to get his pencil because he has to write down the conversation before he forgets it. Art begins the novel by keeping notes while he and his father talk, but later Art brings in a tape recorder. I can relate to Art's attempt to preserve the dialogue as well as he can. I can't relate to his father. I can't imagine living through as many conversations as he did, knowing that that conversation may be the last one you have with that person, and searing those words and facial expressions into your memory. I'm eager to read the sequel.
book_loser's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
penderman's review against another edition
5.0
beautiful, haunting book. very powerful story, and i really enjoyed seeing the relationship between art and his father alongside his fathers story.