In order to get a deeper understanding of the second volume it is necessary to provide a small breakdown of the first volume. Maus is made up of of two primary narratives of equal importance. The first major narrative is focused on Art's father, Vladek Spiegelman, who offers the story of his experiences in the Holocaust, as told to his son through a series of interviews. The second major narrative concentrates on Art's complex and conflicted relationship with his father between 1978 and 1982, while he interviews his father about his Holocaust experiences. Within that narrative occurs a second minor narrative, which appears at the beginning of the second chapter of Maus II and takes place in 1987, shortly after the publication of Maus I. It