And Here My Troubles Began (Maus: A Survivor's Tale #2)

This was different from what I expected. I wasn't sure what I would be reading when I started this book. I knew Maus was a Holocaust story, but I didn't know what type of story it would be. Calling it a "contemporary classic of immeasurable significance" is an understatement. I think powerful is a better adjective. Heartbreaking. Captivating..... those would work too.

The people in the book were depicted as various types of animals which I was both disturbed by and thankful for. I found it very interesting that the author chose to depict his "characters" as animals. The dehumanization aspect was not lost on me-- afterall, isn't that what Hitler and the Nazis did to the Jews?

Given the subject matter, I'm not sure how I would have taken to this book if it had the detail that most graphic novels are known for. The drawings lacked facial expression and some detail, but the point was still made. I still cried when a baby mouse's head was smashed against it because I knew what the mouse represented.


One thing that I did find bothersome was the constant switching between the present and past. I could see it being confusing for some people. However, I thought it was important to show how the past events shaped the father into the person that he became as a survivor. It wasn't choppy per se, but some type of textual feature to indicate that the present was occuring would have been better I think.


Overall, given that this is such hard content to work with, I think the author did a nice job of sharing his father’s horrifying experience in a tasteful way that might make learning about the Holocaust more accessible to future generations. The story was focused on one family's tale, yet it managed to tell about an entire nation. It saddens me to think how little people know about this dark time in history. We are so quick to glance over it or pretend it didn't happen exactly the way history books tell us. But I have met a survivor. I have read her story; and I won't forget.

Reader reviewed by Meg

When I first saw that this book used mice to represent Jews during the holocaust, I was a little taken aback, and I wasn't sure if I thought that it would be respectful to Jewish survivors. But I think that, in the end, using mice instead of drawings of people was really effective. Drawing the characters as mice instead of humans didn't affect the emotions that came up as I read the story. By the end of the book I had totally forgotten about the whole mice thing, and I was just totally absorbed in the story. And it turned out that there were many ways in which using mice enhanced the story. I think that this book should be a must read for anyone studying the holocaust

Reader reviewed by bookworm9

Maus II picks up where Maus I left off, finishing Art's father's Holocaust story and bringing some closure to the just-as-interesting story of Art and his father's relationship. Who knew a "comic book" could be so deep and moving? Don't read this without reading Maus I first.