Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (Maus, #2)

Vladek still counts his crackers and counts every penny. Hunger from the camps never really leaves your body. It just waits for you to get old.

“I know this is insane, but I actually wish I had been in Auschwitz with my parents.”

Artie feels guilty for having an easier life than his parents. He struggles to draw their pain while living in comfort. It makes every page feel heavy.

“It wasn't the best people who survived, nor did the best ones die. It was random.”

Survival isn't about being the best person. Sometimes the people who made it were just the luckiest or the ones who kept their heads down.

The way Vladek treats Mala is so hard to watch. He survived a genocide but can't find peace in his own kitchen. Trauma doesn't make people saints.