EL本棚紹介(13) Maus, by Art Spiegelman

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

This is the book that changed how average Americans thought about comic books. Until Maus started becoming popular, comics were “just for kids.” After Maus, people started calling them “graphic novels.”

Maus tells the story of Art Spiegelman’s Jewish mother and father during the Holocaust and how they survived the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Don’t be scared, though: the story is about humans surviving terrible things, not about showing those terrible things. It also tells the story of Art’s relationship with his father in the 1980s, and there are some humorous parts, too.

Note: Art’s father does not speak American English, he speaks eastern-European English, so this is a good book to practice reading World English, too.

My two cents: This is a serious book, and it is a seriously good book. You should read it. Everyone should read it.