The Complete Maus (vol. I And Ii)
(Art Spiegelman)
Collected together into a single volume are the Pulitzer Prize-winning twin works of graphic genius that would paint Art Spiegelman as an uncompromising and unconventional reteller of the Holocaust tragedy.At a cursory glance, everything about this work may seem unconventional: World War Two-era Europe is populated by a menagerie of suited animals, each according to their creed( the Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, the Polish are pigs); a comic book is the chosen format for the retelling of a story about the Holocaust. A more thorough expedition into it's glossy pages and the reader soon discovers that the oddities are a vehicle for a simply told story, a story simple and yet so emotional and overwhelming one feels as if this is indeed the only way the author could have chosen to tell it without collapsing beneath it's weight.Indeed it is a story close to the author's heart: a series of recollections from his ageing father, Vladek Spiegelman, of his traumatic experiences in the Nazi death camps, and everything before and after. We witness conversations between Art and his father which are at turns strained, humorous, exasperated and heartbreaking; every ingenious business deal that Vladek turns to keep himself and his family alive before they are deported; every narrow escape and short-lived moment of happiness; every mental breakdown and gut-wrenching atrocity at the hands (paws?) of the Nazi regime. All is illustrated in an unassuming yet almost expressionist cartoon style which serves Vladek's recollections faithfully and spares no detail from the reader.The book seems to suggest that Vladek's survival was a matter of pure luck and random chance and frequently seems unimpressed with itself, as if it is pretentious to attempt to regale the story in this particular format and manner; the reader will know better, and looking past Art Spiegelman's self-deprecation will reveal a towering work which stands as both a testament to the endurance of the human spirit and as an easy equal of any major Holocaust retelling you may care to mention.
Resumos Relacionados
- Night
- Oscar Schindler
- Weight
- Beyond The Flames, A Family Touched By Fire
- Sometimes I Call Into The Sky
|
|
