August 19, 2008

Review: The Complete Maus

The Complete Maus
by Art Spiegleman

I have practically no experience with comic books so I put off reading Maus for a long time. But I have heard so many ecstatic reviews, I finally decided to find out for myself what all the hype was about.

It didn't feel like reading a comic book at all. Now I know why the term "graphic novel" is used. This was such an artfully and tactfully written and drawn account of WWII. It's also a very personal story for the author, who displays to the world his feelings of guilt for not having suffered through the horrors that his parents did and inadequacy in telling the tale. It is honestly told and full of raw emotion. And it works as a graphic novel better than it would have as just a written account. I am glad to have finally spent some time in it. I encourage everyone to pick it up. It's worth it.

Though it wasn't my original choice I will count it as my modern classic for the Classics Challenge. I believe it will be considered a classic for a long time to come.

4 comments:

J.L. Danger said...

I keep hearing about this one. I have got nothing but rave reviews. I plan on getting it myself, but I have a question for you. Do you think that it would be suitable for a ten year old? Or is it too much?

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I looked for this one the other day at the store but couldn't find it. I picked up Persepolis, another non-fiction graphic novel. It will be my first and I've kind of avoided graphic novels for a while but I've heard such great things about them. I'm glad you liked this one and I'll have to keep looking for it!

Anonymous said...

I recently read this too and really enjoyed it. I am going to buy it for my mum for her birthday next month along with Persepolis and introduce her finally to graphic novels. I am glad you were able to give the genre a go and hope you don't stop here!

Robin said...

This was incredibly powerful! Definitely worth reading!