Maus

I found this to be a very compelling read, as World War II history fascinates me. Having read much about the Holocaust this separated itself from those other works because of the format of story telling, with the recollections that Vladek has about the war and the concentration camps. It's interesting to see Art piece together his father's stories with interest despite the fact that they don't always get along so well. I felt Prisoner on the Hell Planet was a very extroverted way of dealing with his mother's suicide, something that bothered him so much that he had found more comfort releasing to the public than to his own father. The fact that the characters in the comic were all human when Maus is written as a story with mice and cats makes it more relatable. It's as though art felt uncomfortable telling his biography with humans so he used animals as a sort of mask for his true emotions, which is mirrored in the comic he writes about his mother. This strings into a major theme with guilt that I noticed throughout my readings. Vladek and Art have a horrible relationship, Art is always reluctant to visit his father unless it's to hear more stories to complete his work. He feels guilty for not taking better care of his father the more he hears tales from the past. Vladek feels at fault for Anja's death,  and guilty for being a survivor of the Holocaust because of his wealth.

I felt the style was very clear and graphic, though at times there was a slight use of realism for dramatic impact. Mainly the mice have dot eyes, but for those moments of extreme emotion Art chose to give them pupils, which looks out of place and oddly disturbing to me.