Maus II: A Survivor's Tale, Volume 2

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Pantheon Books, 1986 - Biography & Autobiography - 294 pages
Maus is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son Art, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and history itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking the reader out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching the unspeakable through the diminutive. The first volume describes how the Spiegelman parents survived during the Holocaust, while the second volume focuses on Art's relationship with his father, as a child who survives even the survivors. -- Jacket.

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About the author (1986)

Art Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden on February 15, 1948. He is the son of Polish Jews who survived imprisonment in Auschwitz. His family immigrated to the United States. He became a professional cartoonist at the age of 16. He studied art and philosophy at Harpur College. He became a creative consultant, designer, and writer for Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., where he created Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids and other novelty items. The Complete Mr. Infinity was published in 1970 and won the Joel M. Cavior Award for Jewish Writing. In 1980, Spiegelman and his wife, Françoise Mouly founded the avant-garde comics magazine RAW. His best known work Maus: A Survivor's Tale, was published in 1986 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. His other works include Maus: A Survivor's Tale II, In the Shadow of No Towers, Breakdowns, Jack and the Box, Be a Nose, and The Ghosts of Ellis Island. MetaMaus won the 2011 National Jewish Book Award in the Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir category.

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