Maus was a great read in my opinion. It was informative and entertaining. I was intrigued at first as to how much of the atrocities of the holocaust they were gonna depict, especially since Spiegelman was using cute mice and cats as the main characters. The book wasn't too graphic in content but it definitely delivered some tragic and bleak moments.
It is Art Spiegelman's father's first hand account of the the holocaust in Poland and his stay in Auschwitz. In the story Art is a comic book artist trying to get information from his elderly father about his time in the holocaust. Their relationship is at times frustrating for both of them. Vladek, the father, is a bit of a greedy and stingy old man and is constantly fighting with his second wife Mala. Art's mother commits suicide years before the book takes place.
The story is pretty epic and I felt it read smoothly and quickly. The reader is taken in a grim adventure through nazi occupied Poland.
There are many reasons why Maus was and is so popular. The reason why i enjoyed it so much was McCloud's idea of putting one's self in the cartoon's place. You really feel part of the story both in the supposed real world where Art in interviewing his dad and in the memory of his tale.
Something that really caught my eye was Art's comic about his mothers suicide. It played into the story well but besides that it showed the reader how personal this whole graphic novel is to Spielgelman. It was meant in my view to pull the readers attention through his/her emotions. It was also an opportunity to show Spiegelman's other drawing style. Another similar thing that i found interesting was how he used a photograph of his brother at the beginning of the second book and also one of his father towards the end.
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