Graphic Novel About Holocaust 'Maus' Becomes Amazon No 1 Bestseller After Ban in Tennessee School

The book, which depicts Nazis as cats and Jews as mice, was inspired by the story of the author's parents who managed to survive after being sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The graphic novel "Maus", an iconic story of a Holocaust survivor that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, has become number one on Amazon's best-sellers list. The story by Art Spiegelman was at number 12, but then spiked in popularity, reaching the top position, so now it is not available for delivery until mid-February. The "Complete Maus" edition also entered the list, reaching third place, and is also completely out of stock.

Neither edition of the novel was even in the top 1,000 last Monday. However, it has seen an immense surge in sales after the McMinn County School Board in Tennessee earlier in January voted to remove "Maus" from the curriculum due to "inappropriate language" and nude images.

"I went to school here 13 years. I learned math, English, reading, and history. I never had a book with a naked picture in it, never had one with foul language. So, this idea that we have to have this kind of material in the class in order to teach history, I don't buy it", said board member Mike Cochran.

The writer said he was "kind of baffled" by this ban, and called the decision "Orwellian".

"I've met so many young people who...have learned things from my book", Spiegelman said in an interview with CNBC. "I also understand that Tennessee is obviously demented...There's something going on very, very haywire there".