An interesting facet of the comic book masterpiece that is Maus is the "meta-narrative" (ok, I made that term up). Throughout the story of Vladek Spiegelman's ordeal in Nazi Europe are revealing glimpses of Art's current relationship with his father, as he tries to record his recollections. Everything from his annoyance at being treated like a child to his distress at his father's resemblance to a "stereotypical penny-pinching old Jew" is included. It really gives the whole book a much more personal aspect, and connects the "old" story of the Holocaust to the "new" story of the survivors and their families in the present. I particularly liked his inclusion of his early work "Prisoner of the Hell Planet" (about his mother's suicide) and how it is found by Mala, Vladek's companion. "I was so shocked," she says, "It was so... so personal! But very accurate... objective."