Maus by Art Spiegelman: A Review

We've all read about it in history. Some of us have tried to sweep past it, because physics was more interesting than learning about what one man could do. I mean to say so many individual people in the world of physics and engineering have given so much and sacrificed so much for the world's good. 

However, I feel that the subject I'm about to broach is one that reminds us of what a human being does to another and how, after committing such an act, can the human being be called human anymore? Or is it that the human being is human, in all aspects a thing of beauty that makes the beauty of the humanity in him too much for him to handle, resulting in him sinking to inhumane acts, to stay sane? What I mean to say is, was Lucifer right when he pointed out to God that perhaps humans were flawed creatures? 

I recently (this morning infact) finished reading Maus by Art Spiegelman. What follows is part book review and part honest horror at what went on in the concentration camps of World War 2. We've read the books, watched the movies and shows and we've debated the issue many times, but where Maus shines is that it paints a picture in the first volume of how harsh the life of a Jew in war torn Germany was, even before the war started.

Maus is a tale of humanity. It shows us both sides of the coin- the darkness embodied by the Nazis, who are cats in the world of Maus and the Jews (mice) and Poles (pigs). While on one hand you expect torture and barbaric acts from the Nazis, actually seeing them illustrated in black and white does something to you. On the other hand, the support Vladek Spiegelman shows and is shown in the book sort of keeps the balance in check. Vladek's moments of senility also bring a touch of humour to what is otherwise a very dark book I was reminded of the film La vita è bella while reading the novel. 

The art is thought provoking and brilliant. I saw similar art in the novels of Craig Thompson (I suggest reading Blankets if you haven't yet). 

There is nothing "typical" about Maus. It is just the truth, told to a son by a father. A very problematic father, but nonetheless a father. Maus makes you realize a lot of things you'd prefer be not kept in the light, rather be swept under the carpet. Not only does Maus break your heart, it shatters it to smithereens and helps you rebuild it. But as we all know, broken hearts are seldom mended and a small sliver of your heart will never be the same again. 

Maus is a novel for adults, but it is as if a child is narrating it. The prose is lucid and flows freely and at no time is the narrative boring. The use of simple words and the use of two tones of ink is what has it working best. There is no need for more than two colours in Maus. Using just two colours, a sketch of something horrific comes into being.

The book seems to remind us, lest we forget.

While Leon Uris' Exodus and Mila 18 and Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark also tackle the subject with brilliance, Maus is that one novel that is hard to read and even harder to forget.

Maus by Art Spiegelman- Rated 4/5 stars 

Last Rose of Summer

I don't know how to start this and the title is just the song that's playing now on YouTube as I write this. I'm reading Maus by Art Spiegelman and marveling at what people are capable of. I'm just at the bit where Auschwitz is about to be introduced, Truth be told,  I am scared of proceeding further. I mean, sometimes the visuals are so striking that it just makes me want to puke. 

There's a war going on in the world now, as I'm writing this and I wonder who invented war and why. It is inhuman. I come from a country that kicked the British out and that in itself was a war of sorts. We've seen 'Nam. We've seen the second one, the war to end all wars and yet it marches on, like an insatiable machine guzzling oil and belching out misery and murder. That's all war is actually, glorified murder.

And I'm reminded, as the last notes of the song fade away that a certain man called Nietzsche stated that 

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music"

I am also reminded of the fact that the world spends trillions on defenses and if that money were redirected somehow, perhaps we wouldn't need to defend ourselves.

I made a YouTube video about this which you can check out here  on my ScrollStack and see for yourself what my feelings about war are. I'll shout this from the rooftops if I have to, but if war is the answer, ou're asking the wrong question.

 

And so, although Maus is uncomfortable, tear jerking and horrifying...I will finish it. I will finish it because I want to know that the human race is capable of doing this to itself. I will also finish it and remind myself that I am a member of that race and I will remember the novel, and hope that one day I do not turn in to such a monstrosity.

And isn't it fitting that Half the World Away by Oasis is playing, which has this line, whose poster version is uploaded below? By the way, the poster is one I designed myself...(shameless self promotion, on a corner of the Internet that is mine and also yours and will remain so)

The Bilge Master
 

What I Took Away From Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba

I first read Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba at the age of 22. At the time, I still had a mother, I was in college and I was revisiting metal for what must have been the umpteenth time. I read the book in one sitting and most of what I read made little sense to me.

I read Daytripper for the second time today after a text from my book club admin revealed she was reading it too. (DM paperbacks.n.backpacks on Instagram to join). Six years have passed since the revisit to metal and now I am not exactly listening to metal but I'm also not not listening to metal. It is complicated. I no longer have a mother and I am no longer in college.

Perhaps the fact that six years being a long time and change is practically sacrosanct is what made Daytripper hit some different chords this time on the musical instrument that accompanies me and I call thought. 

It is difficult to sum up Daytripper. I feel it analyzes the fickleness that is life. We walk in the shoes of a man called Brás de Oliva Domingos, a man who writes about death everyday. He is employed by  a newspaper and he is in charge of the obituaries.  Sensing that he possesses a certain flair with the pen and an understanding of the fact that his obituaries give closure to a sect of people who have lost a loved one makes Brás de Oliva Domingos take his job seriously. However, the narrative changes frequently as we shuttle between different stages of his life. 

The twist is, each chapter of this unusually crafted graphic novel ends with Brás dying. Fabio Moon would perhaps be considered a bit macabre for imagining varied scenarios in which his main character dies. I believe the obvious message to take away is that life is fickle and can be snuffed out at any time, at any age (for in one scenario, a very young Brás meets his maker while still a child) and thus life is something to be enjoyed and lived. 

Concepts of loss are explored immensely well in this tome and so is the concept of carpe diem and living without regret. Although it may seem a tad nihilistic to some, it is actually a profound look at the importance of being happy and structuring your life with small moments, which in turn add up to a bigger picture that you, the one living your life is painting. We have often been told of that statement that we should look at the bigger picture. This novel tells us to paint the bigger picture using all the tools we have at our disposal, so that someone may one day come along and look at the picture of a life lived. Perhaps this is what Moon and Ba were intending when they wrote this novel.

I came away from my second read of this book with the resolution to make the most of the fact that I am at this moment on a rock made of stardust floating somewhere in space, inhaling an invisible compound consisting of multiple gases. 

I think Daytripper serves to remind us that we could die at any time. 11, 41, 21, 76. It reminds us that many die each day and that some die sooner, some later and some before taking their first breath. It reminds us that the life we are leading now is the unrealized dream of every stillborn child, that loss is inevitable and that Death is as much a part of living as the sun is a part of the Milky Way.

I wrap up with some panels from the novel, one of which is on my wall right now.

Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. Rating 5/5

(All images are the result of a Google Search)

The Bilge Master

 

Notes From the Underground Cults

 You all thought perhaps I had disappeared into the ether never to be seen again did you not? I had indeed taken to other roads, for as Tolkien has said, 

"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began

Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow if I can

Pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way,

Where many paths and errands meet, and whither then? 

I cannot say"

There have been some changes in the content I am creating these days. I have more or less shifted entirely to vlogging via Scrollstack. My profile is hyperlinked here and you can feel free to check it out.

And now, to arms! 

Doors and roads span out before us every day of our lives. The ones we take are the ones we follow, or sometimes not, for as Robert Plant reminds us,

"Yes there are two paths you can go by

But in the long run, there's always time 

To change the road you're on"

I'm sorry, I have not sat down at this editor and written for some time so this post is taking some time to get started. 

I was at a metal gig yesterday with a very special person, who was a Facebook acquaintance and has now become a grandmother. I never knew the love of a maternal grandmother, nor was I one of the fortunate people who meet their paternal grandfather, but Maya di has been a bridge over troubled water in the two years I have known her- scolding me, embracing me, holding me, putting the broken pieces of my psyche back together through deed and through the mad world of social media.

So, I was at a metal gig with Maya di and the people there were young. Maya di blended into the crowd, danced, jived and grooved and even screamed and growled. She's a 64 year old woman, and she is goals. When I am 64, I have only one wish...that I can be Mayalakshmi Rao. 

And now I've finally understood where this is going...so ONWARD! 

Pain and sorrow are expressed in different ways, one of the expressions being music. Hope and strength are also expressed in the same way, through music. I remember being influenced by an image I saw on Facebook back when I was a teenager and I've found it again using the tool of excellence that is Google and I now see it is a song so I shall link it below...

Yesterday the event saw me connect with a lot of people society would call damaged, people society would be afraid of, people society would say were taking risks , that their hobbies were something that the older generations would not understand. I was reminded of this line from Dylan,

"The old road is rapidly aging,

Better get out of the new one if you cannot lend a hand

For the times, they are a changin''"

Yesterday, I was shown a side of humanity. I saw a 20 something touch the feet of a 64 year old, I saw a 64 year old be properly protected by a gang of youngsters. I networked with a lot of people, dressed in black, but with liquid fire in their eyes. Some of them even recognized me even though I did not recognize them. I was humbled. The rage I had been carrying for aeons was gone, the metal was pouring out of the sound system like a clarion call....

And when Dreadhammer (one of the acts) took the stage and started playing a medley of Black Sabbath, what could I do but yell till I was hoarse? 

Welcome to the underground cults who think a little different from you. Entertain your preconceived notions about these people. Trust me, they do not care. They are too busy having fun! 

And as I wind up this article, a line from Cohen strikes me,

"For less than a second, our lives will collide 

The endless suspended, the door opened wide"

I've gone through the door. Follow me?

The Bilge Master

It's Been a Year Since You've Gone

 It's gonna be a year soon

To the day that you left us 

And you won't come back

Not this time 

The flames have taken your body

The Goddess your soul

You won't see Aishani in a saree 

You won't write my name in a book anymore 

You don't know Kafka came back to me

You don't know of the package in my bag for Bukka 

I look behind me at the books on a shelf in my room

Thank you for reading Lord of the Rings for me 

I wish Basu had known you

I wish Pious could hug you

I wish I could get insight from you about the project 

That made me take a hiatus from this blog 

All of my friends 

Some of them at least 

Still have mothers 

They all try in their way to be there for me

My hands are shaking as I type 

Maya di is gonna have tears in her eyes 

When I send her this so late on Messenger

Reema ma'am will probably...I don't know anymore what she'll do

Baba? You know I'm taking care of him

Tell Thakuma I said hi

I hate that some days I don't miss you

And breathe a sigh of distress on others 

When missing you becomes so huge 

That I want to curse all the people who have not gone through what I went through 

Do I want you back? No

The one goddess I give a shit about took you away

What sort of person would I be to ask for you back?

I proudly say that Lopa's son is not afraid

But Ma, without you here 

I wake up afraid, push it aside, look at Baba 

And I live 

I don't know what this is, I lost control a long time ago

I wasn't ready to lose you so soon

But I guess you had to go

There's a lump in my throat

I want to cry

No tears come, they never have 

I want you to know, if at all you can

That I will live on

And though you are dead and gone 

Believe me 

Your memory carries on

It's been a year since you've gone

And yet I live on, as I must 

One day it'll be two, then five 

Brijesh da will retire 

And one day, I will stand at the same door you stood at a year ago

This then, is truly how the world ends eh?

Not with a bang, but a whimper?

Am I saying that right?

I have to go ma

Baba wants water 

You did say that what separates us from animals

Is that we don't refuse a fellow human water 

I have to stop now, I have to sleep

Just as you went to sleep

And now instead of your warm voice lining the text in each book I read 

There is a voluminous silence 

That no shriek can pierce 

That no song can break

Living the Life of a Drifter: An Ode to Turning 30 Soon

We have always heard tales about happy places and we have heard of the places where it does indeed cost something to be happy. I think it was on Facebook that I came across an interesting argument about why money buys happiness and if I recall correctly, it had something to do with the security of knowing that you had something to fall back on at the far end of a lousy day, instead of the usual coming home to a bottle of spirits to deal with the spirits dwelling in the corners of a tired mind.

 Do not miss the loneliness in these lines. Wasn’t it in the 70’s when a band sang out that people spend time making money- and money making time?

 This makes me remember the quote about how we must do what we can in the time given to us and that other quote about how we all just get one lifetime.

 This long-winded start brings me to a song by Deep Purple called Soldier of Fortune. I first heard it as a teen and didn’t understand how deep the cuts it made ran. I was too hung up on Highway Star. But things change when you approach thirty and you see certain lines in books differently and certain song lyrics seem to be talking about your journey or the journey of someone similar to you. While Soldier of Fortune is an excellent love song which tries a little bit to romanticize loneliness it also speaks of the importance of finding a happy place, a place where you are at ease and the best friend you need to be for yourself. Sometimes nobody comes to save us.

 As I have grown older and if I were to use a mathematical concept here, since a limit can be put on my age and it can be made to tend to thirty (lt Aà30 being the mathematical representation of this sentence), I have found that I have changed in a lot of ways.

 I am no longer invested in violent video games. I no longer have a dog or a mother. I have locked horns with demons which I now consider middle-class and lame but while they were a significant factor in my life, they had me running for my life. When you reach the point where you can plod down an equation that states that lt Aà30, you have to embrace these changes.

 Another important change that has happened is that I have changed my friend circles to a large extent and met a ton of people over the course of this pandemic and renewed and rejuvenated old friendships.

 Therefore, while the equation lt Aà30 is now increasingly there in my life, I think I have lost my fear of it. Let lt Aà30, this misfit wants to live to see it.

 I am still (as Soldier of Fortune is quick to remind me), living the life of a drifter, but an intelligent drifter, whose happy place for the moment resides in the company of individuals spanning the globe and certain fictional ones in varied media.

 However, this happy place came at a cost. It was a price I paid and now destiny is calling me.

 So, I’ve no choice. I am opening up eager eyes, pursuing a road that leads into unknown mores with eager feet and believing strongly that under the rising sun a new day will dawn and under orange street lights, the night will change and there isn’t anything to be afraid of.

 And is there a Juliet? I thought you’d one day ask me this. My answer is, what if it is a Romeo eh?

The Bilge Master

Itsy Bitsy Witchy (A Tribute to Gaiman)

Close your eyes 

And listen to the voice

Follow the tail of the comet

To the gates that are jet black

Approach the house 

Don't touch the bell

Isn't this where the mad witch dwells?

Is she mad though? 

Why does she remind you of you?

Was it because you saw her spell book?

Are you sure it's a she in there? 

You've never seen witches after all

Are you sure they're dangerous?

Yes that's an imp

You know they guard treasure

But did you know they guard secrets too?

Feed it something from your pack

Maybe some bread

Do not touch the toadstools

The house should have a knocker

If there is no knocker the witch is in

Repeat after me 

That old Latin chant

They taught you in school

Watch closely 

The witch is here 

Did you watch closely?

Then close the door

Open your eyes 

Welcome back to the world 

You who have met the witch

And know witches don't mean harm 

You are now one of us 

Tell them we don't fly on brooms anymore

Tell them they shouldn't fear us 

Tell them every doctor they know was a witch once 

Tell them every engineer was an alchemist 

Maybe they'll listen 

Chances are they won't 

That's why we need you

Convince them

Your eyes are open 

See us

Help us 

Be on your way now 

(Inspired by the writings of Neil Gaiman)

The Bilge Master