MixedThe Washington Independent Review of BooksLike her mother, Spiegelman seems to desire a defining problem to give meaning to the world and herself ... The unfolding of the intertwined stories can be hard to follow, yet the confusing sequences seem intended to portray the author’s own ambivalence and uncertainty about what to believe from the variable accounts of the volatile relationship between her mother and grandmother. Like the author, I kept waiting for it all to add up to something. But the buildup leads to a disappointing lack of closure, and the suspense withers away. The glimpses into Spiegelman’s own life, while rich in detail, are as emotionally veiled as those relayed by her mother and grandmother ... Spiegelman’s memoir depicts two women who are at once victims and incredibly strong. I only wish she had waited to write this book until she was older. She might have perceived her family and their secrets differently, looking back from the distance they have already traversed.
