REVIEW: Maus II - And Here My Troubles Began

 Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began
Author/Artist: Art Spiegelman

The story of Vladek and Anja Spiegelman as told through their son's artwork continues in Maus II.The book not only tells how the couple survived in Auschwitz and Birkenau during WWII, but also depicts the author's complex and oftentimes frustrating relationship with his aging father and his emotions/struggles following the success of the first Maus graphic novel.

This second volume deals with the time Vladek and Anja spent in concentration camps. The story outlines what they endured -- violence, starvation, heavy labor, punishment, and witnessing deaths/murder on a daily basis. Their experiences are hard-hitting and dark. But I see no reason why this book is so often found on banned book lists. The reasoning I saw explained in several articles was language, violence and nudity. There are very few illustrations in this book that involve nudity in any way. It is never graphic and the characters are depicted as animal caricatures not human beings. Violence -- yes, it's there. By nature of the subject it can't be avoided. But again, it is not graphic. Language - there are no words in either volume of Maus that teenagers don't hear on television, while playing video games or from their own peers, family members and parents. There are a few minor curse words, but it is not overused or over-the-top. No F-bombs at all.
   
So why do some schools/libraries choose to ban this book?  Subject a bit too raw, or real??? I can't think of one solid reason to stop teenagers or anyone from reading this book. If a particular parent wants to restrict their child's access to this book -- then that is their personal choice. But I will state this fact -- nobody has a right to restrict or limit MY child's right to have access to this book. My teenager has my full permission to read whatever books he wants to read, and nobody has the right to stop him from doing so. I do not support banning books. And after reading both volumes of Maus, I have no clue why these books would be banned from any middle, high school or public library.

These events happened. We can't ban history. Stories like this one need to be told, or horrible atrocities like the Holocaust can happen again. We have to learn from the past, and keep the knowledge present in our schools.