Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 53
 Great Book February 16, 2010
S. Oakley
This was an excellent book. I received the first one for Christmas, and completed it within a day.
Just as great as Volume I December 27, 2009
MYKKWW (East Coast, USA)
It doesn't get any better than this.}
It's almost beyond giving it a "review"....Both I and II are so important and so good. An honor to the six million and more.
 Maus II... December 16, 2009
Sherry A. Thomas
Maus II is a great depiction of the Holocaust. It tells the second half of the story of Vladek Spiegelman and his journeys from Auschwitz to liberation through the Holocaust. The sequel gives more of an insight into the mind of Art Spiegelman as he records his father's stories. But part of what makes the Maus series so different from the rest of the books on the Holocaust is that these are not only the story but a comic book. In the graphic novel it's easy to pick up on the differences between father and son. It tells how the Holocaust and events surrounding the concentration camp shaped those that had to suffer through it all. Art realized the importance of his father, and learned to look through his father's seemingly selfish actions to understand that he was just trying to teach Art all he had to learn through his experiences. Vladek loves Art because through the Holocaust he came to realize that family is really the only thing a person has. He lost his money, he lost his job, and all he had that got him through the days was the thought of seeing Anja again. The thoughts of survival and perseverance were his only thoughts because of the truly horrific experiences he had to go through. In this tale of Art Spiegelman's survival, it gives readers an inside look at the Auschwitz death camp, the death marches, and life after liberation. Through this novel it is also shown the lasting effects the Holocaust had on the men and women who survived, the continual trouble it caused them. It was something they would never recover from, it affected their future children even. It is a tale of triumph, self discovery, and family.
"Bleeding History" December 13, 2009
Jordan Webb (Charlotte, NC USA)
The sequel to Maus I by Art Spiegelman definitely sustains the originality and ingeniousness present in the first portion of the series. Everything within Maus, from the images to the dialogue is profound. The anthropomorphic figures are present in the sequel as well and give the reader the opportunity to absorb the incomprehensible and gruesome events. The novel picks up with both Anja and Vladek Spiegelman standing at the gates of Auschwitz, unsure of the significance of their location. The struggle to avoid the crematorium, death by starvation, the bitter Nazi guards, and other horrific factors of concentration camps begins. Art chooses to emphasize the vitality of luck, resourcefulness, and will power in the survival of his father. The presence of these attributes in Vladek brings a hopeful light to the account, amidst the depressing reality of the situation. However, the present day account of Vladek that is given is much less flattering. He has become a racist, pragmatic, and bitter man, and people who can stand to be in the same vicinity as him come few and far between. Vladek may have physically survived the war, but the notable man he once was died in Auschwitz, according to Art. The bickering and disagreements between Art and Vladek persist throughout Maus II. Likewise, Vladek and Mala, the woman who he married after the death of his first wife, are constantly at odds and certainly go through their fair share of problems in the novel. It becomes clear that the coalition of Vladek's experiences and his demeanor in the last years of his life are directly related. For instance, Vladek's rule for Art to complete every part of his meal is a result of his experience with starvation and lack of food. Vladek remembers what it is to be starving and he does not believe in wasting food, at the expense of his son's emotions or not. Art begins to see this relation as he spends more time with his father. Just as Art would begin to sympathize with Vladek because of his experiences, Vladek would typically demolish Art's sympathy by his racist actions or combative moods. However, Art still retains feelings of pressure to properly convey his father's story. Both Art and Vladek struggle through coming to terms with the past in Maus II. Art realizes the extreme significance in retelling his father's account of survival, and he tries to make sense of the events. Yet, Art Spiegelman realizes that making sense of the Holocaust is impossible because it made no sense at all, there was no justification in it. Therefore, Art does not attempt to tell a moral in the end, he simply tells the story. Wisely, Spiegelman let history speak for itself once he had presented the facts.
 very good series December 7, 2009
Thamanjimmy (Jacksonville, Florida)
This is a very good comic book regarding the Holocaust.
It sounds like it would be weird but it is a very good series.
Easy to read and well worth the short time.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 53
|
