MAUS by Art Spiegelman

MAUS is a graphic novel printed in two parts by Jewish American cartoonist and editor, Art Spiegelman, based on real-life interviews with his father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Auschwitz survivor. MAUS is a haunting tale within a tale, weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into a retelling of Vladek’s harrowing experience of loss, improbable escapes, and near-death experiences during the Holocaust. The novel explores fear, guilt, relief and an extraordinary sensation of survival—from the victims, to the children that somehow survive the survivors. 

MAUS won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 drawing academia’s attention to the comics medium for the first time. It’s now regarded as one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, successfully establishing comics as an important feature of contemporary culture and historical representation. 

Upon release, Spiegelman’s use of animals met controversy including from some in the Jewish community who saw in mice the stereotype of Jewish people as pathetic and defenseless creatures. Yet Spiegelman noted that his anthropomorphized mice intentionally challenged Nazi propaganda that likened Jews to rats, quoting Hitler’s statement, “The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human.” His mice, Spiegelman wrote, “stand upright and affirm their humanity.” (source)

In January of 2022, a school board in Tennessee voted unanimously in favor of removing MAUS from its Grade 8 language arts curriculum, citing objectionable language and nudity of an anthropomorphic cartoon woman. As citizens and supporters of public education, we’re extremely concerned when any book banning takes place, and encourage everyone to read these works for themselves, taking care to consider what can be deemed inappropriate when literature bases itself in reality—no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

- Recommended by Tess