Welcome to Litsy!

Can‘t wait to see it! Sadly, it is more relevant now than ever. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/art-spiegelman-documentary/35215/

I chose this book to satisfy a reading challenge that my cousin gave me - it counts as a graphic novel, yeah? I‘ve seen the title pop up on banned book lists and like most banned books, I think this ought to be mandatory reading. I‘m not usually one for graphic novels or comics, it‘s just too much visual clutter for me, but this book was absolutely brilliant and the images were essential. Definitely tore my heart out a thousand times.

#OffMyShelf “Banned book”

In 2022 A Tennessee school district banned this Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir about the Holocaust due to “inappropriate language” and an illustration of a nude woman.

Spiegelman‘s parents were both survivors of Auschwitz. This memoir is his father‘s story and also coming to terms with their relationship; a child of survivors. I‘m not a fan of graphic novels, I find them hard to parse. But this was powerful.

Clearly one of those books that just must be read. I appreciate the style of the graphic novel, though I did find the bold lines made me take pauses in my (almost) one-sitting read. The portrayal of various races/citizens using different animals was effective. Another addition to the perspectives of the Holocaust. Hard to believe some want to ban this from schools. So glad I finally got around to reading this.

Another Banned Book off the TBR! As someone who learns better through storytelling than through fact stating, Spiegelman‘s story brought an entire new level to the depths of my understanding and comprehension of the Holocaust; the traumas, suffering, and murders that took place. But how are we, as humans, to learn from our horrors of our pasts if these stories continue to be banned?

It‘s difficult to get my thoughts in order about this book. What I take is that there are millions of stories to be told. Art Spiegelman has given us a precious gift of his father‘s recollections of his experience of the attempt by the Nazis to eradicate a race, well to eradicate anyone that didn‘t fit it. It‘s an astonishing piece of work that will haunt me for a very long time.

Completely devastating, exactly what I expected really. This story seems more important at this time

Incredibly powerful account of the genocide of European Jews during WW2. Harrowing, human. The mix of the depiction of the story in its historical place interwoven with the telling of the history by father to son made it exceptional. The graphic novel form worked so well. I would recommend to all. Sits alongside Joe Sacco in my shelf. Does anyone know other great history works in graphic novel form? Would love to find more.

Maus was my favorite read of April. #2024Bracket @CSeydel

Finally read this classic - it sure took me long enough. But it is as impressive as I thought it would be. Especially how Art includes his own relationship to his dad into the story. Writing and drawing those memories must have been a hard job, but I think we agree that it was the right thing to do. What an unforgettable way to portrait the Holocaust.

My 5th and final completed book of the 24-hour readathon. I definitely am comfy/cozy right now, so I should get some sleep. It's been a great #readathon. I'm glad to finally read some books that have been on my TBR pile for a long time. #deweysreadathon @DeweysReadathon

Completed my 4th read of the #readathon. This was amazing, and I'm glad I finally picked it up. I think I have to read the 2nd one now too. #deweysreadathon @DeweysReadathon

I have read a lot of stories about the Holocaust, both Fiction and lots of Non-Fiction. #Maus offers a completely new perspective, both from the survivors themselves and the next generation. It depicts trauma in a very harrowing way. A must-read, for older teens as well.

This is the final scrapbook page I recently completed for my October 2022 scrapbook. It has my reading wrap up for the month. The spiderweb, raven, and words on orange paper are stamped.
My roll of crime scene tape was a great investment. It gets used for lots of things. 😁
Also I highly recommend Maus! 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀
#LitsyCrafters
@Catsandbooks

It makes me sick that this important, brilliant graphic novel/history has been censored. Art Spiegelman writes/draws about his father‘s Holocaust experiences and about the complicated relationship between father and son. https://cannonballread.com/2023/07/maus-a-survivors-tale-vol-i-my-father-bleeds-...

We read banned books on the beach. #bannedbooks #raisingreaders Happy 4th to everyone one in the the US!

Es realmente chocante escuchar la historia de un judío que realmente estuvo en los momentos del Holocausto. Lo que más llama la atención es que el autor lo haya podido contar en forma de historieta y con animales en vez de personas. Una pensaría que eso hace más amena la lectura, pero es al revés. La cantidad de emociones que me transmitió este libro fueron increíbles. Uno se pone realmente triste al ver a estos “ratones” enamorados, o sufriendo

Just focus on the above horizontal image. It reads:
'All 12 of our household were given now to live in two and a half small rooms.'
Behind it on the board:
'REWARD - For every unregistered Jew you find : 1 kilo of sugar'.
That was a single life's worth then. History has been through a lot of dark times and this surely has been one of the darkest.

I started this book yesterday before going to bed and literally had to force myself to sleep somewhere like 60% in. Otherwise I'd have had completed it then only. It had been in my TBR since so long.
PS - Quite ironic, came through this quote today. Beautiful analogy 😍
Gotta finish 'Maus I'.

I think this is the only graphic memoir about WWII and specifically Auschwitz that I‘ve read. It‘s very good, but of course difficult subject matter. I‘ve wanted to read it for a very long time, and even more so because it‘s a banned book. Which is ridiculous. It‘s so important that people are exposed to this part of history.

I liked that the author was interviewing his dad to get his survival story, it gave context and a view of post-war life.

March Wrap up. 18 books 4 bingos

#SeriesLove23
Jane & the Ghost of Netley and His Lordship‘s Legacy 4🌟each
Before the Coffee Gets Cold 4🌟
Murder in Morningside Heights and on St Nicholas Avenue 4🌟 each
The Miracle at Speedy Motors 3.5🌟

#AAM
Tortilla Flat 2.75🌟
In Dubious Battle 3🌟

Women‘s Prize
Stone Blind 4.5🌟
Homesick 3🌟
Wandering Souls 4🌟
Memphis 4🌟

AuldLangSpine
Maus 5🌟
Count the Ways 4.5 🌟

While the Nazis are the main antagonist in Art Spiegelman's Maus, its arguable that the other antagonist is the holocaust survivor's mental health. Afterwards he struggles to live a happy meaningful life do to all the ways he was scared from his experiences in concentration camp.

Spiegelman starts by showing what a difficult man his dad was to live with, then unfolds the trauma he experienced of surviving the Holocaust, which doesn't excuse all of his later bad behaviour, but certainly explains it. I found that personal story as affective, in its smaller way, as his father's account of the Nazi genocide. 5⭐

Maus is the second of the two graphic novels I‘ve read. The first was They Called Us Enemy. While they may not be my go to, both books were excellent and important. Maus was on my #AuldLangSpine list from @Amiable and I‘m glad to have had the incentive to pick it up. 5🌟 And now I need to read Part II of this story. Thanks for the great recommendation Amy! #52Books #SurvivalStory

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2022/11/maus-art-spiegelman-book-ban-a...

“It's as if life equals winning, so death equals losing“

Of course, I had to read both... This one some how isn't as terrifying as the first. But it's probably because I can't even fathom how bad it was. Can you truly understand what hell on earth is like? Watching people die from pure exhaustion, walking over corpses, smelling their bodies burn. And constantly realizing that you're probably going to be next. If you don't come up with a plan, you're just like everyone else. Dead.

Stephen King you can keep all your horror stories to yourself. This is one of the scariest books around because it's real. This happened. People just “disappeared“ never to be heard from again. Family members taken away, people asked to pick a side with no knowledge of what each side meant. Hiding, starving, barely surviving in cramped terrifying conditions. What happens when the scariest monster you can think of is real?

I was worried about how those stark black and white illustrations crowding the page would effectively convey such an intensely personal history but it was perfection.

I remember this being around the house when I was a kid, & I know I flipped through it occasionally but I didn‘t decide to sit down & read the whole thing until it was banned earlier this year. (My library clearly needs more copies cuz it‘s been on hold since then!) I didn‘t remember this being a dual timeline story. Grounding it in the ‘present‘ really helped me connect with it by showing 2 such different generations‘ takes.

I don't know what to say. There are so many books about the Holocaust but the Maus series just hits differently. 4⭐️
#JoysOfJune

#Maus #ArtSpiegelman #book #books #bookhoarder #bookhoarders #bookhaul #bookhauler #bookholic #bookholics #bookheaven #bookjunkie #bookjunkies #bookjunky #bookjacket #bookjackets #bookjacketdesign #bookjacketdesigner #bookkeeper #bookkeeperife #bookkeeping #bookloot #booklist #booklust #booklove #booklover #booklovers #bookloversunite #bookz #bookzesty #bookzilla #bookzine #bookzone #bookxcess #bookcollection #bookcollector #bookcase #bookcases ❣️

After a school in Tennessee banned the book, I went out and purchased my own copy.
First graphic novel I've ever read (My husband teasingly would ask, "How's your comic book?", to which I would reply, "Oh,my Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel? It's amazing!").
With Jews depicted as mice & Nazis depicted as cats, this heartbreaking memoir about a son's quest to document his father's experience in Nazi occupied Poland deserves all the accolades.

This has been languishing on my TBR for years and I finally picked it up due the ridiculous banning in TN. Spiegelman‘s work is powerful and it‘s important to hear his father‘s story. The book is not only about the Holocaust though. It‘s also about the author‘s relationship with his parents, especially his father. I can‘t recommend this graphic novel enough.

I mean…wow…what an emotional experience. I don‘t have the right words to articulate my feelings.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished this and handed it to my 13 year old son. Hopefully it is something we will both enjoy.

Picked up another graphic novel haul from the library because this finally came in on reserve for me!

My library hold came through, so we‘re bumping this to the top of my reading list.

I think I liked this better this second time around; I was paying better attention. Although the current day story in Part II didn‘t focus as much on Art‘s father and his 2nd wife, but there was still plenty happening in the “current” day with Art, his wife, and his father. We had a few more nationalities in part II, all drawn with/represented by different types of animals. Cont in comments.

I read this in 1999, 2014 and then again last month after that backward school district banned it. I never mentioned Maus II here though, so a late post. In brief, it‘s brilliant, surprisingly powerful yet again, and one of those books you can‘t help wishing everyone would read. What caught my attention this time is how secondary the actual story is, the Auschwitz story, and how much is about his relationship with his father, and his art.

1. My TBR bookshelf.
2. Tagged
3. Only one so far-The Paris Orphan

Thanks for the tag @Eggs #wondrouswednesday

A few years back, I made a change to only read #OwnVoices books when the topic is the Holocaust. Surprisingly, I hadn‘t read this one yet. When it was banned in 8th grade classrooms in TN, the state right next door, at the same time it appeared on Maya‘s curriculum, I knew it was time. We‘ve been discussing it this week, and the many parallels to my husband ms family history. Spiegelman recounts his family experience from his father‘s POV ⬇️

When I saw the news that this book was being banned I had to check it out. After reading it in a couple hours, I don‘t see why it was banned. The people that banned this book must forget that teens hear and see worse on tv and from their peers. This is part of our awful world history and it needs to be taught, not banned. I hope this book gets into the hands of the students where it is being banned!

The censorship of books is disconcerting. If you don‘t want to read something don‘t, but don‘t abrogate my right to so so. No earth shattering observations here but needs to be said. The only way a book can hurt me is if you hit me over the head with it. Apologies to those I didn‘t tag

Impressive. I ordered this as soon as I read the article about it being banned.

Look what‘s next up in Maya‘s 8th grade ELA class?

I love her school. #bannedbooks #readbannedbooks

The fact that this is “banned” blows my mind (except it doesn‘t, because almost nothing can shock me these days). Graphic novels aren‘t usually my thing, but this is worth a read. It‘s heartbreaking but it‘s important that we hear true accounts of these atrocities lest we forget…

I bought this because it‘s been banned and I‘d never read it. I was never into graphic novels, but this is a wonderful, difficult, heart wrenching book.