A Survivor's Story

For this blog entry I'd like to write about something a little different. It's a book recommendation, but this is a bit more than a book. I am talking about the graphic novel 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman. For anybody who isn't really sure what a graphic novel is (I'm not!), it's basically a novel or story told in comic book format. The term graphic novel is most probably used as 'comic' doesn't really encompass the serious and often difficult themes that they frequently explore.

So what is 'Maus' about? Art Spiegelman's father was an Auschwitz survivor and Maus tells his story in simple, but beautifully composed, black and white graphics. Ingeniously he uses the visual metaphor of depicting the Jews as mice and the Nazis as sadistic looking cats. This has the effect of focusing the reader's attention on the story without distracting from its often subtle themes and visual clues.

There is no doubt that Spiegelman would have made an excellent graphic designer as he understands visual iconography and language superbly well. Lots of clever images are found throughout the book - Spiegelman's parents fleeing Poland stand at a crossroads in the shape of a swastika for example.

What really distinguishes Maus from other Holocaust memorials is the clever way that it also documents Spiegelman's frequently difficult relationship with his father. This relationship is interweaved throughout his father's narrative and his father is capable of arousing both sympathy and frustration in Spiegelman as well as the reader. At one stage the graphic novel diverges as Spiegelman discusses his concerns with his wife that he is portraying his father as the racist stereotype of a Jew.

This exploration of their relationship allows the novel to work on several levels and also shows the difficulty that Spiegelman has in dealing with such an overwhelming historical subject. In some sense his documenting of his father's history is an effort to understand their own relationship and the distance between them. All that said, I strongly recommend this book. If you think of the Beano or Spiderman when you hear the word 'comics' this could be the one that changes your mind!

This article is taken from a blog on my own company website.

Domestos

I'd like to kick off the past books list with this unforgettable tale of excess. This was very early in our book club careers and was my first pick!

See attached link for update on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy the movie.

It stars a stellar British cast and Denzel from Only Fools and Horses!





http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/news