I read both Maus I and Maus II during a literature of the holocaust class. These were the first graphic novels I've ever read. These books left a huge impact on me. I would strongly recommend these books to anyone interested in the holocaust. They are educational and highlight the survivor guilt that followed World War II - and the impact that had on the children of holocaust survivors. ( )

The strength of this story is the true account of the elder Spiegelman’s struggles to survive the Holocaust as a Polish Jew in Warsaw. It is interspersed with the author’s troubled relationship with his father and the strength of the two to tell the story. The father because he has never before spoken of his experiences and the son to understand the pain and suffering his father endured.

All the characters in this work of art are represented as ethnological animals, an insightful and creative machination on the part of the artist. The Jews, for example, are depicted as scrawny mice (thus Maus, German for “mouse”), the Nazi’s as plump over-fed cats, and the Polish military officers as prodigious pigs. The only humanistic renderings in the book take place during the back story of the suicide of the author’s mother. But these graphic depictions do not distract from the powerful demonstrative story of the struggle to survive not only the worst war of our time but the worst moments in human history. In fact, they serve only to enhance it.

Wonderful storytelling and exceptional art make this a must read for the historians as well as the emotionalists among us. This book is a unique combination of docu-drama, biography, and comic-strip all rolled into one and it works on a grand scale. ( )

The ending to the story on one man’s journey through Auschwitz, his survival and life story, told by his son Art. This portion had a very different feeling to it compared to the first part. Art is now having a hard time finishing up the rest of the story without his father’s help.

I love how Spiegelman, as an author, includes his own struggles with the story and his own personal life into his work to show the reader that the Holocaust did not only effect those in the camps, but those outside as well, coming to terms with their histories.

It was a great ending, very fitting for the story Spiegelman was telling, very well rounded and came full circle.

Not a beat was missed between Maus I and Maus II. The heart-wrenching tale continues with Art recording the details of his father's Holocaust experience.

Wow. This was an outstanding account of Vladek during the horror of Hitler. The story was told in cartoon pictures and the sentences were in choppy English, but that only enhanced my experience. Even with the animals representing people, I was able to engage and feel the story. This was without a doubt an extremely powerful and enlightening book. I was completely immersed and learned many new things about the Holocaust and the legacy it has left behind. (5/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..." ( )

The second part of the first story, which describes trying to hide from the Nazis, this part describes life in a concentration camp. Again, very intense. ( )