Maus

Maus was a very interesting and engaging novel to read! I do not usually read stories or comics of a historical sense, but as I kept reading Maus, I found myself gradually getting sucked into all of the different stories within the plot. That, in particular, was a large part of why I enjoyed this comic so thoroughly. Maus has the ability to switch between multiple situations and various point of views, but still manages to flow very well. Typically, a book has multiple chapters, which are, for the most part, relatively short. Maus had about 5 or 6 "chapters" or parts and the entire book is split into two parts. I get the feeling that it was done intentionally though, because, as a viewer, it made my experience that much more exciting and interesting, which is ultimately what the artist wants. I enjoyed how the layout of the comic was simple, just alternating between two points of view. Either you're being engaged into present tense with Art Spiegelman trying to record Vladlek, his fathers', history as a graphic novel. On the other hand, they also show his fathers story as he's describing it. The imagery was so descriptive on its own, that it really wasn't necessary to constantly add a lot of text. This graphic novel was very well put together, because I usually find that the text and visuals, the two main elements, tend to compete, but are equally balanced throughout Maus.
After reading the last final panel and page, I instantly felt a sense of relief, or just satisfaction that the story had an end. As if it was not over until it's over type of thing. I had to know if he found Anja in the end or not. The actual story itself was very personal and depressing, even if you do not have a strong opinion about the issue at hand. The art style was also incredibly pleasing to my eye. I thought it was extremely clever when the style would change to show whether they were referencing to a past or present memory, along with other important indications for viewers to notice. It was a little strange, maybe just because it was very blunt and a true story, but the racist remarks and details of being in the camps were very forward ways of conveying how it was, in a realistic sense.

There seemed to be a lot of tension between the characters in the present tense after the entire war, but then they would go back to how it was and my emotions, as a viewer, would be all over the place. Finally, when I got to the last page, although I was relieved, it was still very sad how the novel ended. The tomb stone was saddening, yet throughout the book, they tend to imply that he will die when he gets older, yet it still seemed to shock me. I am very glad I read this book, it is definitely not something I would have read on my own, only because I don't usually seek that type of read. Maus was not only a first in that sense, but because it's someone who was involved, it's a very detailed story involving history and personal lives.