Book Review: Maus II
Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began is the sequel to Maus and continues the story of Vladek and Anja. After arriving at Auschwitz, Vladek and Anja were separated into the men’s and women’s sides of the camp. Vladek learned quickly how to use food, services, and other items in order to gain things from the guards. He ran into several people he knew before the war and was astonished at their physical state. Close to the end of the war, Vladek and Anja end up in Germany because the Germans were trying to get away from the Americans closing in on them. The two were not together but were desperate to find each other, so they returned to Sosnowiec, Poland where they were finally reunited.
I chose to read this book because I enjoyed reading the first one so much. I chose Maus because of my love of historical fiction and memoirs. I chose to finish reading about Vladek and Anja because I fell in love with the characters and their struggles, both during the war and after the war. Vladek and Anja proved themselves to be fighters and survivors (something I will get into more in this book review). They used everything they had and were resourceful in how they hid for so long in spite of the Nazi occupation. The other character I fell in love with was Art. His relationship with Vladek is a troublesome one because of his father’s stubbornness and habits. Most people can relate to the strained way that these communicate with each other and how frustrated Art gets when talking to his dad. However, Art understands that he needs to get his father’s story written down, regardless of how he feels about his father. This puts him in a complicated situation, and as the reader, I felt like I could relate to how he struggled with this project.
I recommend this book for anyone who has read the first one and wants to continue reading about Vladek and Anja’s story. It is encouraging to read about their drive to be together and the lengths to which Vladek will go to take care of Anja. It is also important for people to read this book so that they can understand the suffering that happened during World War II. Spiegelman includes all the details that people would rather ignore from the concentration camps: disease, starvation, abuse, death. It was difficult to read about these things, but it important for everyone to understand the anguish that Jews and others experienced.
The way I would teach this graphic novel in class is by focusing on the ways that Vladek is able to use any resource he can in order to not only stay alive but to gain things in the process. In Maus, Vladek uses his money to hide and protect himself and his wife. In Maus II, Vladek uses his language ability, food, skills, and objects. When one of the guards at the camp wants to learn English, Vladek volunteers to help him because he hopes this will make him important. Through this language ability, he becomes close to the guard and is able to get food and clothes. Vladek also uses food to get favors from other prisoners in the camp. When he wants information about Anja, he gives food to a woman who comes back with updates about Anja’s state. Vladek uses his skills to get good jobs at the camp as well. He uses his own experiences from before the war to perform jobs and get on the good side of the guards. This includes tin working, shoe repair, and roofing. In this way, Vladek was able to use trade for surviving. The last thing Vladek did was use objects to get things he wanted or needed. When there was an outbreak of typhus in the camp, the guards checked the clothes for lice. If there were lice on a prisoner’s clothes, the prisoner did not get any food. Vladek had a new, clean shirt that he put on only for meal time and then packed away for the rest of the day.
I would lead discussions with my students about these ways that Vladek conducted “business” in the camp and how he survived and gained from it. I would encourage them to draw conclusions about the people in the camp and the atmosphere of the camp. What does this tell you about their will to survive? What does this tell you about how they thought on a day to day basis? What is missing from their lives and does it matter right now?
As I compare this book to other graphic novels, I give it an A. It draws you in using the parallel storyline just like the first book, and it makes you feel like you cannot put it down without knowing how Vladek and Anja find each other again. Also, the relationship between Vladek and Art is similar in this book as in the first. However, the reader gets to see Art become a little more understanding of his father. When his father passes away, the reader hopes that Art has found some peace about their relationship.
