This year I have been striving to be open to read different types of books than I normally would. As part of a book group challenge on Goodreads.com, I started looking for illustrated books for adults. What I found was so much more than comic books.
As I looked through titles, I noticed Maus, a book I had not heard of before. My husband, and other East Coasters I spoke with had all read this in high school. I got this from the library (I am attempting to not spend money on a book this year, and our library is so amazing I want to support them), and started reading. By the time I put the book down later that day, I was already itching to read the second one, which I did the next day.
A month later, my daughter asked me to proofread a paper for school on Persepolis, a graphic novel about the overthrow of the Shah in Iran in the late 1970s. This time I requested BOTH volumes 1 and 2 at the same time. That turned out to be a smart move.
In addition to both sets of graphic novels leaving me wanting more, there were striking similarities between these. Both were autobiographical, dealing with war and oppression. The dark themes of losing yourself, of exile from home, and of leaving behind pain are shown. The method of the graphic novel, while making things seem “more casual” actually illuminate the history of two corrupt regimes very well. Both periods in history show how brutal people can become in the quest for power. The pictures help make the horrors easier to face. There are no real faces or photos, creating a barrier for both the reader and the writer to get through the story. Maus goes so far as to depict Jews as mice, Germans as Cats and Poles as pigs, a further statement on the state of humankind.
Underpinning both stories of survival and self-discovery, both books exhibit the traits of survivor’s guilt. Persepolis’ Marji had been able to escape the ravages of war and oppression as a displaced and lonely teenager in Vienna, but needed to return to her home before realizing she didn’t fit in there, either. She was ultimately able to leave her country behind, but never her guilt of leaving. It was only with the second departure that she understood that her mother, while loving her deeply, wanted Marji to live in a world where she could be more than was being allowed in Iran.
Within Maus, the survivorship takes on more layers. Not only did he exist in the shadow of his dead brother who died in the war as did the majority of the family, but Art survived of his own mother’s suicide. It was Art’s dealing with this guilt in an underground comic strip that lead him to ask his father’s story – to learn more of his mother.
As noted in Persepolis, it will take generations for the people to truly heal. Both stories show the evils of extremism and intolerance. If we could all look at the world with the veil over our eyes to see only drawings, maybe we can see the complex truth in the simple lines.
The Source 4 Books 