A review by javafenn
Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This is probably one of the most important pieces of Holocaust nonfiction we have to date. Art Spiegelman delicately draws the contentious relationship he has with his father, a Holocaust survivor while also relaying his father’s story of survival using his father’s own words. We see Vladek meet Anja and start a family. We see him work with his in-laws to provide for his family. We see how news of what was happening to Jews started to spread and how Vladek’s family was forced from their homes in Sosnowiec to a ghetto and then ultimately betrayed. Vladek and Anja end up separated in Auschwitz. We don’t get to see much of Anja’s story because Vladek burned her diaries but we do learn how Vladek used his resourcefulness and will to live to survive and how he tried to make things better for his Anja. Vladek’s life was difficult and he survived horrible things which the book did a great job at exploring how that may have affected his relationship with money, food, clothes, not wanting to waste anything, Hala (his second wife after Anja died who also survived the war), and of course with Art. Worst of all, we learn that Anja committed suicide well after the war and never left a note. Art Spiegleman used his art to convey a tragic piece of history we can never forget in such a beautiful and masterful way. It’s definitely a must read, especially in 2025 America. 
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