Rating: 
Summary: Very well done
Review: This continuation of Vladek's holocaust experience is as informative and enjoying a read as the first installation. The author's ability to convey such a dreadful tale through the levity of a comic strip makes the story easily accessible and quite memorable. Worthy of its Pulitzer recognition and a definite recommended read.
Rating: 
Summary: A must Read for everyone
Review: This is a story of a survivor of the Holicaust told by his son. The book is in the form of a comic book with the Jews taking the form of mice and the Germans are cats. I have read many books on this subject but have never been in such awe of a stoy teller. Told in a illastated manner makes this must tell story avalable to a wider group of readers. This book should be in the hands of everyone. It is an important story to tell.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and powerful - visually and literally
Review: This is a very powerful and heart-rending tale of a couple (Vladek and Anja Spiegelman) who survived the holocaust. The artwork, although messy in places, is perfect in setting the scene (In response to David Werking, it is clear that Art Spiegelman did this on purpose...if you don't believe men look at his drawings in RAW magazine). The duality of the story line is very well worked as well.
Rating:
Summary: The comic that should be used in high school
Review: This is absolutely the most moving comic I have ever read. It's about Art Spiegelman's father's coping mechanisms in the face of a pure disaster, and also about Spiegelman's own coping mechanisms with his father's coping mechanisms. But it's also a history lesson. We learn lots about the Holocaust and how the victims of it perceived it as it was happening. And a bit of an adventure story. Though quite far from the heroic ideal--the narrow escapes often come by luck. Nothing else is possible with the Nazi misappropriation of the heroic ideal.As I said in the title block, this story should be mandatory reading in English or history classes in high school because (a) it is incredibly moving; (b) it has quite a bit of real-life history; (c) the kids will like it.
Rating: 
Summary: A good continuation but the first volume was better executed
Review: This second 'Maus' volume completes the story that began in vol.1 . It handles the part of the war when the people where actually being put in the camps, where the first volume was about the things that happened before, up till the point where the war is over. For shock-value this is a boost. The horrors of the events in the WW II destruction camps are illustrated quite 'well', not like the (slightly) romanticized versions you find in most movies. There were no heroes in the camps, only those who died and those who survived, by any means possible. You see Vladek, Arts Spiegelman's (the writer of this book) father, taking on all kind of roles in order to grab even the slightest chances to be on the 'good' side of the camp-population. The side which is 'still of use' and won't be destroyed ... for the time being. The second storyline, that goes on at the same time (they intertwine), is the relationship between Art's father (the 'survivor') and Art. This is shown in the parts where Vladek takes a break from telling Art about the war and we get shown the 'here and now' in the time the book was researched. The war may be long over but Vladek is still carrying the legacy ... in everything he does. Both mentally as psychically Add to it that Art isn't exactly the easiest, most patient person either and you'll realize conflicts aren't rare. It isn't all good in this book though. Off course the illustrations aren't everything, but where they were enough to tell the story in the right mood in volume 1, they get rather confusing at times here. The panels don't flow into each other well either. Going from one panel to the other requires some thinking, to fill the hole Spiegelman leaves from your own memory of other parts of the book a lot of times. This doesn't exactly add to the reading experience. And the story itself is missing something as well. It's full of shock-value but the context in which it is placed misses detailing. It's as if the shock-value is mostly there only for the purpose of shock, not to add to the story (which it DID in volume 1). In conclussion it still is a pretty good book to get, if you've also read volume 1. My criticism may sound a little harsh sometimes but take into mind that criticism is based on comparing it to book 1. It's a nice diversion from most other stuff that goes around in comicdom and the fact it really happened (although it's very subjective off course) adds to the experience. So I'd say you should get book 1 ("My Father Bleeds History") and if you crave for more after that THAN get this. But if you think it's enough after book I it's nice to know that the first part alone can be read as a self-contained book as well.
Rating:
Summary: Maus
Review: Title: Maus
By: Art Spiegelman
Reviewed by: L. Kim
Period: 1 The book Maus is a true story about Jews who survived in the World War II. The author's father Vladek, a Jew, and his family had to suffer a lot. Art actually has an older brother, but he died when he was with his relative. Later when Art's parents were running away to Hungary, the Germans caught them and sent them to Auschwitz, a place with all the gas chambers. Fortunately, they were very lucky and survived from all the torture. Their family members were discriminated for being a Jew and life wasn't so easy for them. When the Americans came to fight the Nazis, all of the prisoners were now saved. They were very happy and Vladek was now able to be back together with his family. There were many things I liked about the book, nothing was bad. This book thaught me history and it was a comic book. That made it more fun for me to read. Unlike most of the books I've read in the past, it was a true story. I felt really sad while reading this book, also sorry. It was a wonderful book. My favorite part of this book was when Vladek was going to the market with Art and his girl friend to return an opened box of cereal. It was very funny and it reminded me of how people became so cheap(no offense) after the suffering during the war. Art and his girl friend were both very embarrassed. Vladek still got it returned though. Maus is just great.
Rating:
Summary: The most powerful Holocaust narrative I've ever read
Review: Virginia says:
The Maus series is unique in that it tells one man's story of surviving the Holocaust, while also giving the reader a glimpse of how the survivor's life has been affected by the experience. This volume is the second part of the series, and while excellent, I was not as emotionally moved by it as the first part, which had me crying my eyes out. This volume seemed to devote more pages to Art and Vladek's relationship than to Vladek's story.
Rating:
Summary: An astounding piece of non-fiction
Review: What an elaborately told tale. Mr. Spiegelman tells a heart-wrenching story using approachable metaphor. This book is an emotional and powerful read.
Rating:
Summary: A daring format for a moving tale
Review: When I first heard about MAUS, I was among the most negative of skeptics. What did Art Spiegelman mean by producing a COMIC BOOK version of the Holocaust? Wouldn't this trivialize a great tragedy? How could anyone even THINK of reducing it to "Bam! Zap! Pow!" and other such stereotypes? The very idea offended me. Then I actually READ read the book -- and discovered how wrong my assumptions were. Let's face it, folks -- most books on the Holocaust are college level, heavy-duty reading. There are plenty of people out there who will never, ever plow through a thick historical tome, but who might just pick up a copy of MAUS and learn something. Academians may skoff at such things as "classics comics" and MAUS, but I have met quite a few high school students who admitted that MAUS was the only book on the Holocaust that they had ever bothered to read. For that alone, Spiegelman well-deserves the many awards and high acclaim that MAUS has received over the years. As for the story itself, the characters are well-developed, and the animal metaphors quite creative. (The Jews are mice, the Nazis are cats, the Polish collaborators with the Nazis are pigs, etc. Also pay close attention to how the Jewish mice wear masks to "pass" when they must go outside from hiding.) Although this has been classified as fiction by some, the story is based on Spiegelman's interviews with his own father, and the incidents are authentic enough that, even if they are fictionalized, they certainly could have happened in real life. This is a story of genuine courage -- not the "Pow! Zap! Bang!" kind in superhero comics, but a tale of bravery just the same.
Rating:
Summary: All together now -- a comic book?
Review: When I realized that the Pulitzer-prize winning book was a comic book, I nearly put it back on the shelf. Oh sure, I love comics, even "serious" ones like Asterix and Obelix. But there seemed to be something sacrilegious about writing the story of Holocaust survivors in this genre. Like walking on a grave. Or touching a Torah scroll with bare hands. So I read it once, and again. An onion, this book is an onion. You peel away one layer only to discover another, and another, and you try in vain to remember what it is that keeps you from crying when you peel an onion. There is immense pain buried here, agony. The simplicity of Spiegelman's text reminds me a little of Isaac Babel, who wrote of the horrors of the Russian revolution in just as understated a tone. No exaggeration, no padding. After all, how can you pad such awful facts? How can you exaggerate evil? MAUS is an adult book. Yet bravehearted parents could likely use it as a read-aloud with older children, if they are willing to tackle honest questions and not duck reality. It could be a family experience to remember. If the adults are well equipped with raw courage. After all, Art Spiegelman was.
| 
