bookheaven | Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (Reply)

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is even harder on the heart than the first and not just because it takes place inside of Auschwitz. The present day agita and angst between Vladek and his son (and his second wife) is rough (especially when Art finds out what really happened to his mother's diaries). The scene with Vladek trying to return opened goods to the grocery store sticks with me (because I've seen that in action personally).

What can you possibly say about this? It's horrific in every sense of the word, made more so because you know it's a true accounting (no matter that it's being told via mice men). Your heart shatters for Vladek and every other Jewish person who were taken to these camps, brutalized and murdered. What took me by surprise is what happened after the camps were shut down. What little I got in history class way back when was basically the allies liberated the camps and huzzah, everything was all right. Of course it wasn't. Not even close. I knew that much but didn't realize just how uprooted (and often still unwanted) these people were.

The thing that really brought me to tears though was (minor spoiler alert) the inclusion of Vladek's actual picture from Auschwitz. It made it so much more real. It's not even the most terrifying pictures I've seen from Auschwitz but getting this after his story slams it home all the pain and suffering he went through.

Read this. It's banned because there are those who want us to forget. Read this.

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