1—My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman
Book Summary: Author Art Spiegelman tells the story
of his father’s life in Poland beginning pre-World War II through his
imprisonment in Auschwitz. Using a
cartoon-style with animals for human characters, Spiegelman inserts current
visits with his father at Rego Park at the beginning of each chapter. The presentation of this book is deceiving,
because a truly extraordinary account is unfolded.
APA Reference:
Spiegelman, A. (1986). Maus: a survivor's tale; 1-My father bleeds history.
New York, NY: Pantheon Bks.
My Impressions:
This book left great impressions after reading. I expected a comic-book adventure, and it was
a tragic tale of how persecuted Jews and their subsequent children’s lives were
changed by the horrific events. The author’s
father, Vladek, was changed forever.
Telling his life’s story, Artie finds reasoning for his mother’s suicide
and his father’s denial—their story was lost which was her reason for living Artie’s
precious survival, and his final means of connection. This surprise ending was truly
heart-wrenching for me. I re-learned a
life lesson--not to judge a book by its cover OR method of messaging. I am left with expectation for the part 2
book, And Here My Troubles Began.
Professional Review: Art Spiegelman depicts his story through the use of cartoon/animal characters; telling of his “relationship with his father, and his father’s horrific experiences as a survivor of the Nazi extermination”… One scene in his book tells of a 10-11 year-old Spiegelman, falling in a roller-skating accident and crying because his friends have left him. His father, instead of consoling, gives a prelude to the coming chapters, gives Artie a reprimand on the weight of what “true-friends” really are.
“Making a Holocaust comic book with Jews as mice and Germans as cats would probably strike most people as flippant, if not appalling”, but the opposite is found… “The guilt, loss, paranoia and regret caused by a mother's suicide are expressed through human caricatures in dense scratchboard blacks” of comic-book style presentation. It is agreed with Hamilton’s findings, that “The effect of such an effort is strangely touching.”
Hamilton, W. (1986, Dec. 7). Revelation rays and pain stars [Review of the book. Maus, by A. Spiegelman]. New York Times Book Review, p. 71. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/07/books/revelation-rays-and-pain-stars.html?pagewanted=all
Library Uses: MAUS could be used as supplement reading for high school history as it expands on the Holocaust of World War II. It could also be used by high-school counselors as a grief aid, as the author used his comic-book work as therapy to deal with the suicide/death of his mother.
Professional Review: Art Spiegelman depicts his story through the use of cartoon/animal characters; telling of his “relationship with his father, and his father’s horrific experiences as a survivor of the Nazi extermination”… One scene in his book tells of a 10-11 year-old Spiegelman, falling in a roller-skating accident and crying because his friends have left him. His father, instead of consoling, gives a prelude to the coming chapters, gives Artie a reprimand on the weight of what “true-friends” really are.
“Making a Holocaust comic book with Jews as mice and Germans as cats would probably strike most people as flippant, if not appalling”, but the opposite is found… “The guilt, loss, paranoia and regret caused by a mother's suicide are expressed through human caricatures in dense scratchboard blacks” of comic-book style presentation. It is agreed with Hamilton’s findings, that “The effect of such an effort is strangely touching.”
Hamilton, W. (1986, Dec. 7). Revelation rays and pain stars [Review of the book. Maus, by A. Spiegelman]. New York Times Book Review, p. 71. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/07/books/revelation-rays-and-pain-stars.html?pagewanted=all
Library Uses: MAUS could be used as supplement reading for high school history as it expands on the Holocaust of World War II. It could also be used by high-school counselors as a grief aid, as the author used his comic-book work as therapy to deal with the suicide/death of his mother.
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