Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Maus: Povest preživelog. I, Moj otac krvari istoriju by Art Spiegelman

96 reviews

flyingryndeer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Suicide, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Deportation, Death of parent, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Hate crime, Confinement, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, Police brutality, and Antisemitism

audreylee's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Minor: Suicide

zakcebulski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This is one of those books that I remember seeing when I was a young lad. The cover was always so evocative to me, the mice, Hitler as a cat, the swastika- it is a scary image, especially in a K-4 library. I never read this book, though. I always focused on other avenues to consume information about WW2.

I finally found this book in the used bookstore that I frequent, and I decided to pick it up. And... if I can say that I have never wanted to kick myself in the ass more than now...
This graphic novel is absolutely stellar. Art Spiegelman's illustrations are so well done, it is truly awe-inspiring. 
The basic premise of this graphic novel is from the point of view of Art Spiegelman who is a cartoonist who is interviewing his elderly father- Vladek. 
Vladek is a Polish Jew and a survivor of the Holocaust- which Art is interviewing him regarding. 
Spiegelman does a fantastic job of illustrating these characters in such a way that they are very expressive- they are clearly defined and varied. 
I was shocked by and came to love the complex dichotomy between the reverence Vladek has for his first wife- Anja, and the disdain and disappointment that he has toward his second wife- Mala. 
The feeling of sub servitude expressed by the facial illustrations and body language of Art is so well done- you really feel the intense self-loathing, and lack of esteem which he has- especially when he is interacting with his father. 

I thought that the stand in animals for people were a fantastic allegory. Jews are viewed and illustrated as mice, the Nazis are cats, the Polish are pigs and the Americans are dogs. This I feel helps to keep the narrative straight, as you know who is who and what each person is doing at a glance. 
I also loved the way in which characters are disguised at points, they have a mask of a different animal species on.

This novel is autobiographical for a portion of Art's life, as well as biographical for a section of Vladek's life. I thought that the weaving together of two stories was done seamlessly. You really get an understanding of what went into the writing of this novel, and why Vladek acts the way in which he does due to the traumas that he was forced to endure by a fascist regime. 
I also love the way that this first volume leaves off on a big cliffhanger- it makes you want to run out and snag the second volume immediately. 

I plan to read the second volume in the near future, but for now, I am so pleased to have finally read this book. I think that it did a fantastic job of illustrating in a digestible way, the atrocities of the Holocaust. This novel and its second volume are important works, and I think that they should be read. This is the sort of art that is important so that the further education of the Holocaust and similar genocides can be learned about so that they can, in a utopia,  become a thing of the past. For now, learning about them, and keeping the memories of those who suffered and were murdered alive is what we can do. 

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Content Warnings

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

joliwhite's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.0

The ending was confusing, but I appreciated another perspective during the Holocaust. The representation being of animals was relative to the power dynamics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Minor: Suicide

agustdefault's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism and Genocide

Moderate: War, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, and Suicide

jakepasseri's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, and Genocide

Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Gun violence

francestea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

As a human being I feel it is our responsibility to listen to stories like Vladek’s. This graphic recounting of his life during (and after) the holocaust is such an easy and accessible way to learn from his experiences. Art Spiegelman is so clever in his artwork. Using animals to represent different groups of people allows the reader to instantly identify their background. It is really, truly, a one-of-a-kind book. Fast paced and incredibly consuming you could easily finish it in one sitting. I’m completely awestruck by how fortunate his parents were to survive in hiding so long before they were taken to a camp. I do lament we cant have had more of his mothers side of the story.  However, I will definitely continue on to book 2 as soon as I can!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Suicide, Antisemitism, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Child death

twistykris's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Antisemitism, Genocide, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Confinement, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Child death

cstein's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

Spiegelman's decision to draw rather than merely write this memoir importantly limits the reader's imagination, leaving drastically less room for confusion, wrong interpretation, or willful ignorance of the facts of his and his father's experiences. In a similarly ingenious way, Spiegelman's cartoon animal characters provide sufficient whimsy and distance from the horrors of the Holocaust to make the work readable, while also prompting frequent pauses to reflect on how the emotions and horrors experienced by these cartoon animals are actually those experienced by very much non-cartoon people. Phew.

As the Newsweek review of this work reads, in part, "Maus compels us to bear witness in a different way: the very artificiality of its surface makes it possible to imagine the reality beneath." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Antisemitism, Death, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Chronic illness, Deportation, Genocide, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, War, Vomit, and Excrement

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

Minor: Suicide