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

( 47 )

Overview

***WINNER OF THE 1992 PULIZTER PRIZE***

Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spiegelman's Mausintroduced readers to Vladek Spieglman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with ...

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More About This Book

Overview

***WINNER OF THE 1992 PULIZTER PRIZE***

Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spiegelman's Mausintroduced readers to Vladek Spieglman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive.

This second volume, subtitled And Here My Troubles Began, moves us from the barracks of Auschwitz to the bungalows of the Catskills. Genuinely tragic and comic by turns, it attains a complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium. Mausties together two powerful stories: Vladek's harrowing take of survival against all odds, delineating the paradox of family life in the death camps, and the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. At every level this is the ultimate survivor's tale—and that too of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.

Winner of the 1992 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album—Reprint

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
"The most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust."
—The Wall Street Journal

"Maus is a book that cannot be put down, truly, even to sleep. When two of the mice speak of love, you are moved, when they suffer, you weep. Slowly through this little tale comprised of suffering, humor and life's daily trials, you are captivated by the language of an old Eastern European family, and drawn into the gentle and mesmerizing rhythm, and when you finish Maus, you are unhappy to have left that magical world."
—Umberto Eco

"In part two of Maus, Art Spiegelman finishes his masterpiece . . . You can't help witnessing—even feeling—the act of private pain being transformed into lasting truth."
—The Boston Globe

"One of the most poweful and original memoirs to come along in recent years . . . An epic story told in tiny pictures."
—The New York Times

Wall Street Journal
...[T]he most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust.
San Francisco Examiner
The power of Spiegelman's story lies in the fine detail of the story and the fact that it is related in comic-strip form.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Spiegelman's startling comic about the Holocaust, which revolves around his survivor father's experiences, won a 1992 Pulitzer Prize.
School Library Journal
Told with chilling realism in an unusual comic-book format, this is more than a tale of surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effect of those events on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following generation. Each scene opens at the elder Spiegelman's home in Rego Park, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents' experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by the skillful graphics and suspenseful unfolding of the story. -- Rita G. Keeler, St. John's School , Houston
New York Times Books of the Century
The reader...develops insights that are beyond the capacity of the characters; that is a mark of Mr. Spiegelman's mastery of narrative.
Kirkus Reviews
Together with the much-acclaimed first volume of Spiegelman's Maus, this unusual Holocaust tale will forever alter the way serious readers think of graphic narratives (i.e., comic books). For his unforgettable combination of words and pictures, Spiegelman draws from high and low culture, and blends autobiography with the story of his father's survival of the concentration camps. In funny-book fashion, the all-too-real characters here have the heads of animals—the Jews are mice, the Nazis are rats, and the Poles are pigs—a stark Orwellian metaphor for dehumanized relations during WW II. Much of Spiegelman's narrative concerns his own struggle to coax his difficult father into remembering a past he'd rather forget. What emerges in father Vladek's tale is a study in survival; he makes it through by luck, randomness, and cleverness. Physically strong, he bluffs his way through the camps as a tinsmith and a shoemaker, and also exploits his ability with languages. Every day in Auschwitz, and later in Dachau, demands new bribes and masterly bartering. All of this helps explain Vladek's art of survival in the present: his cheap, miserly behavior; his disappointment over Spiegelman's marriage to a non-Jew; his constant criticism of his own second wife and his son; and even his inexcusable racism. Haunted by the brother who died in the camps, Spiegelman (born in postwar Sweden) also mourns his mother, who survived only to commit suicide in the late 60's. Within the time span of the writing of Maus (1978-91), Vladek died, and Spiegelman now must sort out his complex feelings as he reflects on the success of the first volume—a success built on the tragedy of the Holocaust.With all his doubts, Spiegelman pushes on, realizing that his book deserves a place in the ongoing struggle between memory and forgetting. Full of hard-earned humor and pathos, Maus (I and II) takes your breath away with its stunning visual style, reminding us that while we can never forget the Holocaust, we may need new ways to remember.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780679729778
  • Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 9/28/1992
  • Series: Maus Series , #2
  • Edition description: Reprinted Edition
  • Pages: 144
  • Sales rank: 28573
  • Product dimensions: 6.50 (w) x 9.07 (h) x 0.38 (d)

Meet the Author

ART SPIEGELMAN is co-founder/editor of Raw, the acclaimed magazine of avant-garde comics and graphics. His work has been published in The New York Times, Playboy, The Village Voice, and many other periodicals, and his drawings have been exhibited in museums and galleries here and abroad. Honors he has received for Maus include the 1992 Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim fellowship, and nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Mr. Spiegelman lives in New York City with his wife, Francoise Mouly, and their children, Nadja and Dashiell.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 47 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(32)

4 Star

(9)

3 Star

(2)

2 Star

(3)

1 Star

(1)
See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 47 Customer Reviews

  • Posted Mon May 26 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Art Spiegelman¿s Maus I and II: A Survivor's Tale I chose Art Sp

    Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and II: A Survivor's Tale
    I chose Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and II. Maus is the story of the Jews and the Nazis as it pertains to the extermination of the Jewish ghettos within Nazi Germany. The book also analyzes the establishment of a protectorate government within Poland and helped me grasp the political and economic situations of the times via telling the Holocaust as though the Nazis were cats and Jews were mice. The initial situation begins with Vladek. He begins as a well-to-do young man in Poland. Vladek’s story is Maus’s central theme. This relates back to Spiegelman’s description of World War II and Spiegelman’s point of view. Vladek begins his story with a description of his affluent lifestyle before the commencement of World War II. He has just married Anja, his father-in-law has helped him set up a factory, and Vladek and Anja have a young son, Richieu. The major conflict lies within Vladek’s fortunes change when the Germans occupy Poland. As World War II begins, Vladek is sent to fight, and ends up a prisoner of war. When he is freed, he returns to a Poland that is now occupied by Germany, and thus subject to its laws. Conditions worsen as the Germans confiscate the Jews’ property, restrict their movements, move them into ghettoes, and deport Jews to the camps. A complication lies when Vladek and his family attempt to hide from the Germans. For a while, Vladek and Anja are able to hide from the Germans in the homes of various Poles. But when they attempt to escape into Hungary, they are betrayed to the Nazis by their handlers. Terrified, Vladek and his family are sent to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, Vladek and Anja experience the full horror and brutality of the concentration camps. Suspenseful, Vladek tries desperately to survive in the concentration camps. The ever-resourceful Vladek figures out a way to make life a tiny bit easier for himself and Anja in the camps by bartering his skilled labor and his language skills. As the war nears its end, Vladek and Anja are transferred to Dachau, where conditions are even worse than Auschwitz. In the denouement of the book, the war ends and Vladek and Anja are free. With the end of the war, Vladek and Anja reunite in their hometown, Sosnowiec. They emigrate first to Sweden, and then to the United States. Debauched accelerative to the contemporary, anywhere Art chronicles the last confrontations of Vladek’s story. In the last scene, we return to the present as Vladek finishes his story to Art. I chose this book as it gave me more insight into the political and economic activities rather than a list of nonsensical facts in a textbook, the easy facilitations of the text, and the
    The time period and the historical events that this book references is situated is during the German invasion of Poland and the Holocaust. The importance of these events to our historical study is the evolution of genocide and effectiveness of point of view within the recalling and analysis of Maus I and II. This book connects to what we’ve learned in class via pertaining to the growth of the genocides and the leading and resulting of World War II.
    Art Spiegelman is an American cartoonist, editor and comics advocate based in New York City, best known for his graphic novel Maus. His awards include the Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards. His point of view is majorly for the Jewish and anti-Nazi propaganda as his family and cultural is culturally bonded more to Jews. He see his topic that he’s talking about as critical and needed for support as he sees the Nazi Germans as bad and the family connection with is Polish Jewish relatives. He has these views as he heard what his relatives went through and know now what terrible people the Nazis were. “It would take many books, my life, and no one wants anyway to hear such stories.” (I.1.14). This shows that Vladek is reluctant at first to participate in Art’s project, and as the rest of the book continues, a kind of rivalry develops between them over how to tell Vladek’s and Anja’s story. “But POP – It’s great material. It makes everything more REAL – more human. I want to tell YOUR story, the way it really happened.” (I.1.25). This shows that he was taking down his father’s memories and recreating them on the page may not just be a concern with artistic realism, but Art’s own attempt to connect with his father on a deeper level.
    This book gave me a deeper insight into this era of world history. It is from the time period and this tells us about the people during the time the author was writing about political structures and cultural cosmopolitan of Europe. Political structures such as the Polish protectorate of the German lands; economic stability of Poland; and the cultural cosmopolitan of Europe.
    I you recommend this book to other students as a good way to learn about this time period of the creation of the German protectorate of Poland as it pertain to knowing the political and economic conditions of the times. What I found interesting was the use of the Nazis as cats and Jews as mice as it pertains to personified figures reflecting human history The author’s writing style and general pace of the book was generally slow. As a graphic novel, it pertains relative to even pace.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted Fri Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Very good!

    Very good! I highly recommend it.

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  • Posted Tue Dec 11 00:00:00 EST 2012

    AMAZING

    A CLASSIC - BRILLIANT

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  • Posted Sun May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011

    Excellent Format about the Holocaust

    Maus 2 is now about Vladek Spiegelman in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. From there we see how Spiegelman acts very cautious of every step he takes in order to stay alive and protect his family. This book even shows more different races in the camps like Germans, Poles, and French civilians. I even got to see the horror of living in the camps and cruel treatments the Nazis put on the Jews and other prisoners. At the end of the book, I realized why the author picked animals to depict the different races in that time period so you can understand better how the Holocaust was on an individual and the actions displayed in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who like history and wants to know more about the Holocaust. I personally learned about a lot more of the Holocaust that I would never imagined. This is probably one of my favorite books and I just can't stop talking about it. I highly recommend this book to people who just love reading.

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  • Posted Wed Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Maus 2

    This is the second part of Art Spiegelman famous books called Maus part 2. Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents' experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by there awesome graphics and cool pictures. I think this would be a perfect book for any teacher that reading about the holocaust. Also good just to read by your self.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun May 16 00:00:00 EDT 2010

    AP world history book review

    Maus 1 and 2 are both great books describing the events of the holocaust and what it was like for the people enduring it. The story is about Art Spiegelman and how he interviews his father to build up a great story for the comic that he is writing. He goes into a vivid description of how he got married to a girl named Anja, and how he was a textile salesman before the events of the Holocaust took place.Then they went into hiding and eventually were captured by the nazis and taken to a concentration camp. Maus one and two are great for anyone who wants to learn a little history but in an infamiliar fashion, with it being a graphic novel and all. These are great books for anyone in high school that wants to find a more interesting way to learn history and i highly recommend them.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun May 16 00:00:00 EDT 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    In the Shadow of No Towers
    The New York Trilogy: City of Glass/Ghosts/The Locked Room

    Ap World History Review

    Art Spiegelman, the author of the Maus series, is an amazing writer and cartoonist. In this series he puts his father's and his own experiences in the form of a graphic novel. The main character Artie, who is also a cartoonist visits his father often to learn about the experiences that his father and mother went through in the time of World War II and the Holocaust. Seeing as Artie's mother is dead, because of suicide, his father is the only parent to recount this information. His father begins by explaining how he had met Artie's mother and continues his story explaining the hard and difficult times that he and his wife went through. The real reason that they were able to survive had been Artie's father wit and the fact that they were rich and possessed many valuable things. Though that saved them from dying, but they didn't escape all the horrors that others faced. Examples of this would be concentration camps, Auschwitz, and labor towns, where the Nazis killed Jews and protesters methodically.



    This book is both touching and sad, but it really informs the reader about the time period and the long term effects that are present in a family that goes through it. After the Holocaust Artie's mother committed suicide leaving his father, Vladek, alone with his son. Throughout the whole ordeal he loses most of his family members, including his son, Richieu. In the end all he is really left with is his son, so he becomes depressed and burns Anje's journals. At that Artie gets angry because that was his last real tie to his mother, and his father destroyed it. This book shows real emotion and thoughts from the characters making it amazing. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know what the Holocaust was like and the effect it had on the people who experienced it.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Nov 18 00:00:00 EST 2007

    Maus II:a tragic tale of a family in the holocaust

    Maus 2 was a great continuation of the first book. Just like the first Maus book I started reading it and couldn't put it down. The drawings are very detailed and make the story easy to understand. The book is about the author himself, Art Spiegelmann who is referred to as Artie, interviewing his father Vladek about the Holocaust and the stories he had to tell. Even though when you first glance at the book you might think it is an easy read or something a child may read it is really not. A lot of the parts in the book are intense and give you a good look at what it was like to be a Jew in the holocaust. The story of how Vladek got separated from his wife is heartbreaking and shows how their love was still strong even when times got rough. It is fascinating how cruel people can be to one another and how savage the Nazis really were. How desperate people were for scraps of food or things we take for granted like for example a spoon or a simple belt was very well demonstrated. Something I loved about this book was how the Jewish people were drawn as mice and the Nazis were drawn as cats. All in all I really recommend this engaging book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2007

    Good Book!!

    This book was one of the first books i have ever read and not put down. I like it because of all the details and drawings, it helps you understand what those times where really like. the book is sad at times!! the ending is really sad but you know it's comming!! i recommended this book to students who are learing about Hitlers Europe!! :)

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Jan 20 00:00:00 EST 2007

    Wow

    The narration supports the three commic book styles while using parallel storylines that intertwine. The use of animals exumes the author's theme.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Sep 11 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    One of the best Holocaust books ive ever read

    Maus was an excellent story. i have read the two books since i was in seventh grade. i am in 10th grade now, and got the chance to do a book report on it, and i am so glad that i have finally gotten the chance to purchase both books.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Nov 06 00:00:00 EST 2005

    Maus Series Rule!

    This book is the sequal to one of the most touching and emotional comic book of all time. It is amazing and I recomend it Highly.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2005

    This was a REALLY good book. i highly recommend it.

    This book was the best book on the holocaust yet! it gave a survivors side if the mistreatment and does it in the best way possible-a comic! it was also awsome when he gave every type of person a animal to be represented by. I so highly recommend this book.

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