“i prefer tom and jerry”
“America as the Promised LandI got the chance to meet Art Spiegelman in person once and I remember him saying that one thing he didn't like about Schindler's List was that it basically went "a whole lot of jews die ... but hey, here's Israel as a prize." He also said that he had a lot of difficulties (failed?) in finding an Israeli publisher for Maus, although I forget the details.I thought that comment was strange, because my feeling on reading Maus was that Spiegelman does the exact thing he criticizes Spielberg for, but he just has America standing in as Zion instead of Israel. Throughout the storyline there are good jews and bad jews, good germans and bad germans, good poles and bad poles, but only good americans, no bad ones. I think this is a purposeful part of the narrative. Vladek's liberation and escape to America is certainly cast as more of a redemption narrative than anything in Schindler's List (at least that I remember).Am I off in reading it in this way?”
“Although it's been a while since I read the book, I agree with you- it is more about a son trying to understand his father than a redemptive story. ”
“It's been ages since I read it, but, yeah, I'm with you on that.”
“I came away from the book with an impression of a more personal story, a man's ambivalence about his father. When he learned Vladek's story he understood a little better why he was the way he was and what drove a lot of what he did. He seemed to feel guilty for judging him so harshly when he was growing up. I didn't see a redemption story at all. If anything, I think Vladek's past never stopped haunting him. There wasn't a happy ending, life just went on after the nightmare and it was bearable.Maybe it's time to read it again and see if I get more out of it. You had a pretty amazing opportunity, speaking to the author himself. I can think of several I'd love to have a conversation with!”
