I have made substantial progress on Maus. The first two chapters are about Art Spiegelman visiting his father, Valdek Spiegleman, in the late 1970's to interview him for his new book. He asks him to describe, in great detail, what it was like trying to survive the Holocaust. Vladek, at this point, has been remarried since the suicide of his wife and Art's mother, Anja.
Vladek begins to describe how he, as a young man in the late 1930s in Sosnowiec, married into Anja's wealthy family and soon became a father. After the birth of their first child, Richieu, Anja fell into deep postpartum depression to the point where she all she could think about was dying. In order to help her, Anja's parents and Vladek decide to commit her to a sanitarium. They must pass through Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to reach the sanitarium.
So far, I am loving this book. I has a great, though provoking plot with complex characters and it's set during one of the dangerous times in history. The comics drawn by Mr. Spielgelman not only creates a great visual for the reader, but also makes the story more intense and interesting. The concept of using animals to portray human characters is a brilliant one indeed. Instead of rushing through and trying to finish the story, it really makes you slow down and experience everything with the characters as they go through their struggle.
I would love to read this book at some point. I haven't really read any comic books, but am learning how detailed and informative they can be. I'm excited to see what you think about the rest of this book!
ReplyDelete