Maus by Art Spiegelman

Art Spiegelman’s Maus is a deeply impactful and memorable work but by no means an easy read; stories of cruelty that we, as a society are capable of, never can be. The very first words I noted down for my response were “it hurts.” Though the tone of the narrative feels devoid of sentimentality, you can’t help but grieve with him, for him. For the suffering of his family and his own burden of guilt for not having had to suffer similarly; for the loss of the opportunity to reconcile with his father; for the loss of his mother, her story, and several other stories that will remain untold.

With Maus, Spiegelman makes us confront the harsh reality of the Holocaust and the horrifying mark it has left on generations to come, while he himself attempts to confront the root and nature of his own sorrow. The crudeness of his drawings emphasizes the harshness of that/this world. He parallels his father’s story of the Holocaust with his own interactions with his father and mundane details of their relationship. Spiegelman makes us aware of his experience of creating Maus, reflecting on his creative process, inhibitions, dilemmas and moral obligations. His honesty makes his sorrow and his parents’ hardships all the more harrowing for us.