The Story

In a graphic novel format, Spiegelman has written the biography of his father, a Jewish man living in Poland during WWII. This is the second volume, and tells the portion of Spiegelman’s father’s life from being sent to Aushwitz through to immediately after WWII ended until Spiegelman’s father immigrates to the USA.

The Response

I should’ve read this immediately after finishing the first one. It’s not absolutely necessary to do so, but it certainly would’ve made for a smoother transition. I found that it was a little hard to adjust back to the speech patterns of the characters in this graphic novel, where if I had read it immediately after there wouldn’t have been that adjustment period.

I also should’ve written this post immediately after finishing the first one, because I’m finding it hard to gather all the thoughts I had about it. Le sigh.

So, this one picks up a few years after the other one, immediately after the other one AND a few months after the other one. The story of the author hearing the story from his father was a few months down the line, after his father’s wife leaves his father. The story of the author’s father in Auschwitz continued immediately. And there was a new bit, from the present, that takes place after the author’s father has died.

What I found interesting about this portion, and I’m not entirely sure how to interpret it, is that when we read the narrative that happens after the death of the author’s father, you can see that the author has a human face and is wearing a mask of a mouse. But in both of the other narratives, they aren’t wearing masks, they actually HAVE the faces of whatever animal they are personifying. I didn’t know what the author was trying to tell us there… Maybe to distinguish from the present and the other two narratives in a way that wasn’t distinguished between the two narratives previously? Maybe to show that what culture you are doesn’t define who you are as much as it used to?

Like the first one, this was definitely a thought-provoking and educational read, while remaining not too-heavy due to subject matter and not treading too lightly on what were horrifying events. While I knew what kind of stuff went on in Auschwitz, it gives a much different perspective to read the story of someone who was actually in there, instead of reading a textbook-like account. I think the worst part of it all was how a lot of these people had been treated so badly for so long that they just gave up – it’s so heartbreaking. And yet there are those who were able to survive through the horror in order to rebuild their lives after the war.

The Bottom Line

Oh! Enjoyed this more than the first one, but they go hand-in-hand, definitely. Need to read the first before you can read this one. And would highly recommend to people who are into stuff about WWII and the holocaust.

Other Reviews

Historical Tapestry, Becky’s Book Reviews. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

In a graphic novel format, Spiegelman has written the biography of his father, a Jewish man living in Poland during WWII. This is the first volume, and tells the portion of Spiegelman’s father’s life from being a young man just making his way in the world, until Spiegelman’s parents are sent to Aushwitz.

The Response

So, here’s the thing. My brother has only really started reading on a regular basis the past few years. And this is the first time that he has ever actually recommended something to me. SO. I kind of really had to read this.

And I’m so happy that I did, because this was a great medium to tell the story. I wouldn’t have thought that – thought that the graphic novel format wouldn’t mesh too well with the subject matter. (And that’s not because I don’t like graphic novels, because I have read many that I love, so don’t think this is a dis on the format.) It could’ve easily made the horror of the situation less real or less important, and it really didn’t.

I wasn’t really a huge fan of the illustrations – I prefer ones that are slightly less thick-lined looking (does that even make sense?) but I just don’t like the style. Thankfully, not liking the illustration style didn’t detract from the story at all.

One thing I really liked about this was the way that it was told. Each chapter is a separate visit between the author and his father. And we see the story unfold as it’s being told in chronological order, including all kinds of side tangents such as the author’s father’s attempt at fixing a leak on the roof. It let us know that no matter how dark things got, in this case at least, some people survived.

The past few years, I have read a handful of both nonfiction and fictional books about both WWI and WWII. This one can definitely hold its own among the group – it’s done in a way that I don’t often see in non-fiction books, and a way that I have no doubt would make it appeal more to those who don’t read non-fiction.

The Bottom Line

I am definitely looking forward to reading the second volume in this story, and will be picking it up at some point soon. Highly recommended.

Other Reviews

The Written World, Regular Rumination, Becky’s Book Reviews, Trish’s Reading Nook, Lesley’s Book Nook, A Fondness for Reading. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

Lucy Maud Montgomery is the beloved author of the Anne of Green Gables series, the Emily series, Jane of Lantern Hill, The Blue Castle and countless other novels, short stories and poems. She is considered one of the defining authors of Canada – although the Canadian critics didn’t receive her books well, she brought attention to our country on the global literary landscape, and her books are still popular today.

The Gift of Wings is a comprehensive biography of Montgomery’s life, digging deeper into her life than “Maud’s own compelling account of her life.” Rubio is no stranger to the topic of LMM – she is the co-editor of Mongtomgery’s journals and the Norton Critical Edition of Anne of Green Gables, co-author of Writing a Life: L.M. Montgomery, and editor of Harvesting Thistles: The Textual Garden of L.M. Montgomery. So when reading this, you know Rubio knows what she’s talking about.

It took me such a long time to get through this book! It’s been sitting on my night table for months now. I struggle so much getting through non-fiction. I am trying to change that, but it doesn’t always have the draw that a really good novel has. Nonetheless, it had some really interesting information in it; a lot of things about Montgomery that I had never known before. It gave such an insight to the books that I love so much.

But I think this biography has cemented the fact that I probably don’t want to read the journals. There were some parts that were so heartbreaking, and I wouldn’t want to get so much into Montgomery’s brain at those points in time. Especially relating to her husband’s depression and her anxiety issues. Goodness! They were prescribed medications that only made what they were feeling worse, and the medication was addictive and goodness. It breaks my heart, because if doctors knew more about what they were prescribing, and how these drugs didn’t interact well with each other, and didn’t work well at all really, things might have been a bit better for her. Breaks my heart!

There were two parts that stood out for me the most, and made this book as interesting for me as it was. The first was something any Montgomery fan would appreciate. Rubio talks about the periods when Montgomery is writing each of her books: what she was dealing with in her personal life at that point in time as well as events and people that had an influence on aspects of the stories. I loved reading about that. For those parts alone, I will come back to this book. Whenever I am rereading one of Montgomery’s books and want to get a refresher on the insight behind it, I will return to this book. In the same respect, it was interesting to hear the trials and successes Montgomery had when actually getting her books and short stories published.

The other thing that really interested me was more relating to her personal life. Montgomery’s husband (Ewan Macdonald) was a Presbyterian minister. He was the minister at two small churches in rural Ontario during the time that the United Church of Canada was formed. For those who don’t know, the UCC was formed through an amalgamation of some Presbyterian, Methodist and and Congregational churches in the 1920′s. This would have had a big impact on communities such as the one Montgomery lived in, where there was a potential that either the whole church would become a part of the UCC, or where they could lose part of their membership to the UCC. The book goes into how exactly it effected Montgomery’s family – the churches Ewan was a minister at had to decide whether they were going to stay Presbyterian or change to UCC, and this period would have no doubt caused all sorts of stress to Ewan with the uncertainty of what was going to happen to his parishes. The UCC was a big part of my life for most of high school, it was where I met some of the most awesome people ever, and it is the church I will go back to if I ever decide I need to go back to church. Reading about it’s history, and how it’s formation effected people at that time, was definitely interesting and gave a bit more insight to where the UCC started.

The Bottom Line: I definitely think that this is a must-read for any Montgomery fan. Even if it takes as long for you to get through it as it took me, it’s worth it. It may not be the best read for people who are only fans of the Anne books, as it touches on a lot more than Anne. It gives an in-depth look at the author we all love so much, and I’ll definitely be keeping this one on my bookshelf so I can return to certain parts of it.