Spiegelman's storytelling is incredibly engaging and, in a sense, almost lighthearted. Using the concept of animals as depiction of the Nazis, Polish, and Jews, one can quickly find themselves reading what could almost be a children's book. Moreover, Spiegelman's use of his father's ability to get sidetracked adds for a unique sense of comic relief. Additionally during the storytelling, Spiegelman's father recalls events in a humorous tone. For example, when his father and mother gave birth to Spiegelman's late brother, they called him "Heil Hitler" because of a hand motion his brother would always do when he was an infant. It is interesting that Spiegelman and his father have the ability to provide comic relief when telling such a tragic and unfortunate story.
When Spiegelman's father recalls his story, the stream of conscious-like method puts the reader in the room with the two of them. This type of story telling is very intimate and oftentimes makes the book engaging and hard to put down. In addition, when his father gets sidetracked from telling the "meaty" details and starts talking about his love interests etc., the reader gets to see a true, forthcoming side of the two Spiegelman's. Although Art feels obvious frustration when his father does get off topic, it remains very interesting to the reader because of the insight you can get about how their family is/was.
I agree. I felt myself going through a rollercoaster of emotion throughout the story. There were certain parts where I felt myself almost ready to cry, but then very shortly after, I found myself chuckling (my roomate was actually quite confused because she was sitting next to me throughout the reading process). A few times she asked "how could you be laughing during a Holocaust story?" I also enjoy the way that Spiegelman accomplished that. I have read many Holocaust books and none have been as different as this one.
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