I was not sure where to put this, it's not really a book, it's definitely more a graphic novel, but a TRUE graphic novel. Hope it's okay here, I felt compelled to post about it since I was talking about it with someone last night. For those who don't know the premise, they are companion stories of Art Spiegelman and his complicated relationship with his father Vladek, who survived the Holocaust, and Vladek's story pre- and post-WWII. They run in tandem.

The realism in these novels is astounding, and what I mean by that is, Art shows just how flawed both he and his father are. Whether it be the after effects of his father surviving the camps, how Art was brought up, etc. The term "survival" is apparent here in many aspects.

I've never read anything like it in my life before and I know I never will. I had to read it for college and it has profoundly affected me.

Art and his wife have done a lot of work for The New Yorker, and he also had an underground comic series called "Prisoner from the Hell Planet" where he touches upon some very personal things in his life.

I highly, highly recommend these novels.

 

Yes, that's one of the most significant things about it, I knew him choosing those particular animals was not random. In fact, I recall the scene where he was talking to his wife about how he should draw her.

For some reason, I think the way he did it gets the point across even more than just words on a page.