Reading Order
Maus Reading Order
Art Spiegelman's Maus (1986-1991) is the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir — the story of Spiegelman's father Vladek, a Polish Jew who survived Auschwitz, told in two volumes with Jews depicted as mice and Nazis as cats. Maus won a special Pulitzer Prize in 1992, the first comic ever to do so, and is widely regarded as one of the most significant works about the Holocaust and one of the foundational works of the graphic novel form. The second volume, Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began (1991), covers Vladek's time in Auschwitz.
Where to start
Maus I
Complete Maus Book List
- 1Buy
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale
Art Spiegelman·1986·Start here — Vladek's story through the beginning of his deportation to Auschwitz; the first volume of the complete work. - 2Buy
Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began
Art Spiegelman·1991·The second volume — Vladek in Auschwitz and after; must be read after Maus I. The two volumes are often published together as The Complete Maus.
Maus — Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read Maus I and II in order?
Yes. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale and Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began tell a single continuous story and should be read in order. Most editions are now published together as The Complete Maus. The story alternates between two timelines: Spiegelman interviewing his elderly father Vladek in the present, and Vladek's story of surviving the Holocaust in the past.
What should I read next after Maus?
Spiegelman readers continue with his other graphic works, including In the Shadow of No Towers (2004) about September 11. For Holocaust readers, Night by Elie Wiesel, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, and Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz are the essential companions. For graphic memoir readers, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Watchmen by Alan Moore are strong companions.
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