Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My FAther Bleeds History

I can't say I've ever read an entire comic book or graphic novel, and I'm not sure Holocaust literature was the place to start.  However, reviewing the book as a teacher, I must say it's a great book to hook some of my not-so-eager readers.  Art Spieglman writes, in comic book form, about his father's experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Using mice to represent Jews and cats to represent the Nazis, Maus follows Spiegleman's family's life from the mid-thirties until the winter of 1944.  

Spiegelman's style is rather abrupt.  His brutal honesty regarding his father's behavior can come across as shocking.  But, I truly believe for others to even begin to understand the Holocaust, an author should not sugar-coat any aspect of a biography. I struggled a bit with Spiegelman's transitions; I often had to reread a passage to determine if I was in past or present tense.

I know that Maus is a part of many high school's English curriculum.  I have read numerous memoirs and biographies that have had a much greater impact on me and my view of the atrocities of the Holocaust.  Aside from the unique presentation, I don't really think that this particular story stands out among the others.