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The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–45 by Władysław Szpilman
annelisegordon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
lizziebennett's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
jenny_hedberg's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a long time to read this book. Getting from cover to cover only took me a day but choosing this spine over the other books’ spines in my bookcase took me 6 years. Maybe the war in Ukraine and the current mood of uncertainty in Europe created an opportunity for me to dive into the misery of another war.
As an insight into life in the Warsaw ghetto, I find this book singular. Szpilman’s account is detailed yet succinct; you’ll get no vivid description of the flowers growing in the gutter, but Szpilman doesn’t spare the reader the terror of occupation. In a way, I found Szpilman’s clinical account of his experiences almost made them more incredulous.
I also reflected on the lack of animosity toward the perpetrators and those that did not give aid. Szpilman’s empathy for his fellow man and the difficult choices they were forced to make got me wondering what right later generations have to be anything but empathetic.
As an insight into life in the Warsaw ghetto, I find this book singular. Szpilman’s account is detailed yet succinct; you’ll get no vivid description of the flowers growing in the gutter, but Szpilman doesn’t spare the reader the terror of occupation. In a way, I found Szpilman’s clinical account of his experiences almost made them more incredulous.
I also reflected on the lack of animosity toward the perpetrators and those that did not give aid. Szpilman’s empathy for his fellow man and the difficult choices they were forced to make got me wondering what right later generations have to be anything but empathetic.
sadtourist's review
5.0
A beautiful book! It was a somewhat harrowing and difficult read for me simply because I'm in Warsaw right now, and I actually am living a block away from one of the streets that he mentions. Szpilman is a great writer, I enjoyed the style and tone. It's a short book and a very fast read, I recommend it!
book_concierge's review
4.0
The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Extraordinary True Story of One man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945.
Szpilman was a pianist who performed on Polish radio. He was, in fact, playing Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, live on the radio on Sept 23, 1939, when shells exploded outside the station. It was the last live music broadcast from Warsaw that day; a German bomb hit the station, and Polish radio went off the air. Ultimately, the Nazi’s plan for extermination of the Jews would take all of his family, but Szpilman would manage – by luck, courage, tenacity, and the kindness of others – to stay hidden and survive. The most unlikely person to help him was a German officer who came across him in the ruins of a building scrounging for food.
He wrote his story shortly after the war was over, but it was suppressed for decades, finally being published in 1999, and even then, not in Poland. The edition I had included entries from the diary of Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, the German officer who saved Szpilman towards the end of the war.
Szpilman’s story is told in a very straightforward manner. He recounts the ever-increasing restrictions imposed by the government on Jews, the forbearance and belief that “this is bound to pass” among his family and others in the community, the terror and horror of witnessing (or being subject to) random acts of violence and death. And yet, there is a certain cool detachment. Almost as if he were witnessing someone else’s story rather than reliving those experiences himself. In the forward, his son Andrzej supposes that his father wrote the memoir “… for himself rather than humanity in general. It enabled him to work through his shattering wartime experiences and free his mind and emotions to continue with his life.”
I found it engaging and gripping. Even though I knew he survived, I simply could not stop reading.
The extraordinary memoir was adapted to film in 2002, starring Adrien Brody (who won the Oscar for his performance) and directed by Roman Polanski (Oscar for Best Director).
Szpilman was a pianist who performed on Polish radio. He was, in fact, playing Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, live on the radio on Sept 23, 1939, when shells exploded outside the station. It was the last live music broadcast from Warsaw that day; a German bomb hit the station, and Polish radio went off the air. Ultimately, the Nazi’s plan for extermination of the Jews would take all of his family, but Szpilman would manage – by luck, courage, tenacity, and the kindness of others – to stay hidden and survive. The most unlikely person to help him was a German officer who came across him in the ruins of a building scrounging for food.
He wrote his story shortly after the war was over, but it was suppressed for decades, finally being published in 1999, and even then, not in Poland. The edition I had included entries from the diary of Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, the German officer who saved Szpilman towards the end of the war.
Szpilman’s story is told in a very straightforward manner. He recounts the ever-increasing restrictions imposed by the government on Jews, the forbearance and belief that “this is bound to pass” among his family and others in the community, the terror and horror of witnessing (or being subject to) random acts of violence and death. And yet, there is a certain cool detachment. Almost as if he were witnessing someone else’s story rather than reliving those experiences himself. In the forward, his son Andrzej supposes that his father wrote the memoir “… for himself rather than humanity in general. It enabled him to work through his shattering wartime experiences and free his mind and emotions to continue with his life.”
I found it engaging and gripping. Even though I knew he survived, I simply could not stop reading.
The extraordinary memoir was adapted to film in 2002, starring Adrien Brody (who won the Oscar for his performance) and directed by Roman Polanski (Oscar for Best Director).
rio_moore's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75