Introduction
This collection is a collection of seventy stories, each 280 words. They were inspired by the first picture seen on my Twitter feed on a given day.
The cover fascinates me. Maus. Like mouse. Two anthropomorphic mice stare out. They huddle beneath a stylised cat and blood-red swastika. They are three-dimensional and coloured. I gently touch the cover. My hand trembles slightly. Art Spiegelman. An apt name. A mirror to the world through art.
The swastika threatens. Has that symbol always done that? Was it innocent once? I tentatively touch the cover. It does not hurt me. It is after all just paper. Yet I continue to shudder.
Yet I am compelled to look more closely. I take it from the shelf and leaf through its pages. It claims to be a survivor's tale. "My father bleeds history and here my troubles began," says Spiegelman. The pictures inside are black and white. It follows true comic bock traditions: read picture and text top left corner to bottom right, lower case for "stage directions" and uppercase for speech, and textures created by arranging lines differently.
I recognise the story too. I've read it before. I've even written it: World War II, concentration camps, survival.
I cannot resist. I move towards the till. I hand the book to the sales assistant and take out my bank cards. She confirms that I get a discount as I am a member of the Society of Authors. "A classic, isn't it?" she says. "Nicely done."
Why have I taken this book? It can't be a comfortable read. I know though I'll admire the artistry, the story-telling and the feel of the book in my hands.
As I make my way to the tram stop I think of that Holocaust: the blame, the hatred, the injustice and hope that it isn't coming back.
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