Maus - The Complete Maus (by Art Spiegelman)

Graphic Novel

9/10 - "Accessible and emotionally driven even to those without or little prior knowledge of the Holocaust"

This 'autobiographical' graphic novel is in simplistic black and white, pen-and-ink style and in comic-strip layout - but still conveys all of the power of a non-linear movie. Art Spiegelman writes from his point of view and represents all Jewish people as Mice (including himself), taking the role of the writer gathering information on his father's experiences during World War II, he carefully interweaves the past and the present and marries them with historical/external and internal struggles. The Nazi soldiers are represented as Cats with their compact faces and non personified dress. There are many layers that can be found in Maus and as a writer-in-the-making is a wonderful piece of media text to analyse and engage with. But I would not just recommend this to Media Students - anyone seeking a good story about family, love, life and death will find it in Maus.

Note: Hard to get hold of in normal bookshops as quite popular - your best bet is to try Amazon!