A lot of talk and action has been going on in the United States recently about banning “inappropriate” books. The graphic novel “Maus” by Art Spiegleman, first published in book form in 1986, is only one of many that have come under fire. During the period from July 2021 to March 30, 2022, 1,500 books were banned in 26 states. Most books feature uncomfortable topics, including actual historic events.
“Maus” is unique in the way Spiegelman chose to tell his, and his father’s, story. “Maus I” and “Maus II” are done as a “graphic novel.” Graphic novels began in the 1970s and one of the first was called “A Contract with God” in 1978 by Will Eisner. It is a format, not a genre, that includes fiction, fantasy and nonfiction.
Graphic novels are like comic books, which began in the 1920s, in that they use art that progresses frame by frame to tell a story. They are unlike comic books in that they are usually standalone stories that have more complex and more complete narratives. Graphic novels have proved to help engage “reluctant” readers.
“Maus" is presented in black and white and has stark ink drawings. Most graphic novels, like comics, are illustrated in color. No doubt Spiegelman chose his minimalist presentation because of the content of his personalized story. The novel is the culmination of taped interviews Spiegelman conducted starting in 1978, with his father, Vladek, a Polish Jew, who survived the Holocaust during World War II. The two had an estranged relationship. During the interviews, he learns of the many ways his father had to adapt to survive the concentration camps. Vladek had many eccentricities, which drove Art crazy as he grew up. Learning of Vladek’s experiences may have helped Art understand why his father behaved the way he did.
Buy the book!
“Maus,” by Art Spiegelman, is available at Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3xs4SW2 or call Maria’s at 247-1438.
In “Maus,” Spiegelman uses anthropomorphism (creating nonhuman creatures with human characteristics) to portray Nazis, Jews and Poles. Playing off the Nazi-held belief that Jews were vermin, or rats, Spiegelman’s Jews are mice, Nazis are cats and Polish people are pigs, which has never gone over well in Poland. Despite the differences in the faces, all of the beings share the same body types, including the limbs. Perhaps it was his way of pointing out that despite the differences, they all share the same “humanity.”
Spiegelman relates Vladek’s story with unvarnished reality. The randomness of who lived and who died in the camps, the casual cruelty of the Nazis, and the struggle to survive are true to life. Spiegelman does not try to make a nice, simple man and loving father. Nor does he portray himself or his actions as pure and simple as a devoted son. These past experiences have served to not only rule and impinge his father’s life, but also his own.
“Maus” was a groundbreaking book that legitimized and heralded comics and graphic novels as a serious adult medium. Despite both librarians and bookstore operators having a difficult time deciding where to put the book, category wise, in 1992, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Special Citations and Awards.
Update
In response to more than 1,500 books being banned in the country recently, New York Public Library has made banned books available free online. This endeavor is called Books for All and is open to any reader age 13 and older. Books will be accessible on the library’s app until the end of May. Also, the Brooklyn Public Library has also announced another option, called Books Unbanned for readers 13 to 21 on its app. Both apps are free.
The depiction of historic events, despite how horrible or distasteful, are facts. The past cannot be changed, but knowing history can help to deter similar events for the future. Banning such books as the McMinn County board of education did in January is not the best choice for our young people. It objected to “Maus” because of one instance of female nudity – a mouse, which are not known to commonly wear clothes – profanity (a few damns) and violence. It was war! By nature war is pretty violent – see current events in Ukraine.
Rather than ban books with uncomfortable elements, they could be studied, and perhaps valuable lessons can be learned.
Leslie Doran is a retired teacher, freelance writer and former New Mexican who claims Durango as her forever home.
