Rating: 
Summary: Spell binding- a Must Read!
Review: Wladyslaw Szpilman's memoir 'The pianist' is spell binding. It was hard to put the book down, once I started reading it. I have already read it 3 times. There is so much detail in Szpilman's writing that it is hard to grasp it all in just one reading. Szpilman's son writes in the Foreword that his father was not a writer; he was a musician. However, this is one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read.The book is an honest, detailed, and detached observation of an important historical period 1939-1945, from Szpilman's perspective. His story of survival is not only inspiring, but also amazing. Szpilman came close to death several times during this period, but every time he somehow survived- sometimes by instinct, or luck, or kindness of many people, and most of the time through his self discipline and the will to survive. He survived the loss of his entire family, bullets from German soldiers, starvation, cold, jaundice, carbon monoxide, burning buildings, sleeping pills, and the German death train. He was meant to live, and tell his story. Szpilman tells it just the way it happened, with feelings, but without melodrama. There is subtle humor, vivid word pictures, and detailed accounts of places, people, and events. They are a testimony to his ability to observe and to communicate. He kept with him a pen and his wristwatch throughout his hiding, and he wrote immediately after the war, so his accounts are fresh and accurate. When I read the book, I had already seen the movie twice, so there was no real suspense. Yet the book held my attention as much as the movie did. The movie complements the book, in a way. The pictures come alive in the movie, but some events and things decribed in the book are even more horrifying and shocking than what the movie shows. To realize that these things actually happened is a sad statement for humanity. A fascinating portion of the book is at the end. There are excerpts from Captain Wilm Hosenfeld's diary and they reveal the kind and moral person behind the German uniform. The excerpts do not include Szpilman, however, because the last entry was made before he met Szpilman. The Epilogue, written by Wolf Biermann- a German writer - upon Wladyslaw Szpilman's request is an important part of the book. Szpilman looked for his savior almost immediately, and he even contacted a powerful Polish person to help him, when he discovered in 1950 where Hosenfeld was. Unfortunately his efforts were unsuccessful in rescuing him from the Russian POW camp. I would have liked to see more pictures in this book. There is a picture of Szpilman with his siblings, and two by himself- one before and one after the war. There is a picture of Captain Hosenfeld, which was given to Szpilman by the officer's widow, when he visited her in 1957. Some family pictures would have made this book even more interesting. However, the lack of them does not lower the value of the memoirs. For anyone interested in the history of WWII this book is a must read. Even without such an interest, this is a great inspirational book for anyone who cares, and I highly recommend it to all.
Rating:
Summary: Music of the Heart
Review: Wladyslaw Szpilman's memoirs 'The Pianist' became quintessencial to those who want to read about nazi holocaust in Poland. But, rather than that, the book tells a story of a man whose only desire was to survive, against all odds. That's when the book gets an universal interest. His memoirs written fresh right after the war are from his heart. His words have an effect on those who read it, that it is impossible to forget this book. He seems to have put his hate aside and written this book in the best form possible. Moreover, this new edition with some pages from the German officer Wilm Hosenfeld's diary are specifically clarifying and show that not every German officer accept Germany's politics, but they didn't have many options too. Szpilman used his passion for music to survive and with his memoirs it is impossible to forget one of those most shameful peoriods of history. It is a pitty his book was 'lost' for so many years, but thankfully it is back now, stronger than ever. This is a book that must be read over and over again, so that we don't make more atrocities like those commited to Szpilman and all other Jews. Congratulations to Roman Polanski who made a brilliant movie from the book.
Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Review: Its been years since I have read such a lovely and complete book. A story albeit very poignant and gripping offers so much more. It takes the reader through the struggle and triumph of one man, Szpilman, who defied fate and destiny and survived during the most toughest of times in the ghetto in Poland and the darkest in human history - the holocaust ! His writing is simplisitic and without any of the unnecessary exploration of character or literary verbosity..he tells it as he saw it and as he lived it! It is far more engrossing than any murder mystery because you want to know how he beat the odds and about how he survived without any martyr-like tactics. Miraculous though it might be..it gives way to a subtle yet knowing feeling that there is still someone up there, who can change your destiny and bless you with luck just when you have given up hope.It is a spiritual inspiration and exploration. An ordinary man with an extraordinary tale to tell..god bless him and the german officer, who showed that you can still wield power by saving lives and not by merely taking them!!
Rating:
Summary: The Pianist.....A great book and a true story
Review: A gripping, stirring account of one man's survival through the war years: Wladyslow Szpilman is a Polish Jew whose talents as a pianist help him barely endure the holocaust years of Nazi occupied Warsaw. The book admirably shows the survival instinct of man: just when it doesn't look like it can get any worse, it does: and yet he is able to persevere with a little cunning and sometimes a lot of luck. Also accurately depicted is the disturbing recurring theme of how evil can grow and flourish in people when there is nothing to constrain it. A "Lord of the Flies " all over again, only on a grander scale. All in all a compelling read. Well written and hard to put down. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: a great story and a brave man
Review: This book is about a real survival story in World War II. Although the author himself was not a professional writer, this cruel and dramatic history really doesn't need any kind of exaggeration or decoration. His writing style is plain yet true to the fact. I was so absored by his story that I finished the book within two days!
Rating: 
Summary: "Powerful story of survival"
Review: This novel is a sad account of how human life was not valued by people in this time period. The Pianist is a survival story of a Jewish man living in Poland with his family during World War II. This true story is an easy and knowledgeable book to read. People, when they read this book can follow and understand the main character, Wladyslaw Szpilman. This man goes through so much you find yourself sitting and reading the book thinking how can he be surviving through all of this pain and drama and still be alive and willing to fight. I read this book after I saw the film that was made last year. My advice to people is to read the novel first then see the movie because the book has so much more emotion involved within it. Even though the movie to my belief does the book justice.
Even if the story is not to your liking there are other interesting facts inside the book such as exerts of Captain Wilm Hosenfield's diary and an introduction from Wladyslaw Szpilman's son talking about his father. This book is a must read by any person who is interested in the holocaust.
Rating:
Summary: You will see God in Szpilman's tale
Review: This book, The Pianist, is my third English book to read which first seems to be difficut for me , a Japanese, to complete reading for unknown new wording and longer sentence. However, accurate and objective and rather calm description of difficult time of Poland and Holocost, gradualy strikes me and I have been transferred to the days of Warsaw when German invaded and forced terrible life to all Jews. Szpilman, among them, separated from his family at Umschlagplatz, staggering down the empty street, weeping out loud. Later on , he tried suicide in the burning building, thinking of the death of parents, sister and brother, gassed in chamber. What I most moved is , as in the movie, he played Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor in fron of German Captain Hosenfeld. Music sound floated through streets of ruins of Warsaw and strongly insists not only human agony and pains of death but also hope for live and humanity.
I think you will see God who guided Szpilam to endure and live through war for the hope and love.
Rating:
Summary: The Pianist- An Inspirational story of survival
Review: The Pianist is a true and inspirational story of one mans survival in Warsaw during the German Occupation in WWII. Wladyslaw Szpilman was a young pianist who performed pieces on polish radio before the Germans invaded his home in Warsaw. Although Szpilman's endures prolific hardships he manages to forgo the fate of so many others around him and ultimately live to tell about it. While the world around him is desecrating Szpilman, a young musician, relays on intuition and talent to get him through each day. Despite the loss of his entire family Szpilman conjures the courage to survive, which was perhaps the hardest thing to do in the Jewish Ghetto.
The degree of hope that Szpilman has is displayed in many instances. One remarkable moment in the memoir occurs when Wladyslaw is being supervised by the Germans while working in the cold. Being so small he is worried about not being able to perform the work properly which could consequently lead to his death. However, the amazing thing about the situation is that he is more worried about his fingers freezing up in the brutally cold weather. His hope throughout the entire book is that he will someday be able to run his fingers across a piano again and play the music that he once loved. This is truly an inspirational moment in the novel that proves his continuous hope in the future.
Another element of the story that I appreciated was that throughout the entire novel Szpilman never expressed hatred for the German people. Not to say that he held no discontent with the way things were, but he in no way droned upon the fact. He told the story the way it was, and that meant exposing the atrocities of the Germans but not relying on the element to carry the novel. He told a story of survival, one that focused on his life and how he found the courage to make it where so many others had fallen.
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping and Powerful Statement of the Human Spirit.
Review: I read the book and watched the movie. I sit back and feel myself become completely absorbed into the book and movie. The intensity of the will to survive is immense. Being of African American heritage, I feel like there is a bond because we too came from oppression. I read the Diary of Anne Frank 15 years ago and occasionally read it, to keep myself grounded. But this has also become one for the soul. I only wish that God spared Hosenfeld's life. He was so compassionate. And deserved to live on longer. When finished with either the book or the film, one is left feeling so completely and utterly overwhelmed with emotions. I am not sure what the emotions are. Is it sadness, empathy, happiness, or appreciation that this story has come to be told? Szpilman was a great man, and with that came great respect. I am honored to be able to say that the story has truly enriched my soul.
Rating:
Summary: Graphic depiction of personal survival during the Holocaust.
Review: Anyone who has been moved by the brilliant movie of the same name, will not fail to be overcome by this remarkable, written account of the extraordinary survival of Wladyslaw Szpilman, which actually contains more detail than what has been revealed in the film itself. The first version of this book was written immediately following the end of the Second World War in 1945 but was immediately withdrawn from circulation and it's availability quashed for many years by political authorities who clearly did not want such eye witnessed accounts as this to emerge. Too many painful truths about the collaboration with the Nazis of defeated Russians, Poles, Ukrainians and even Jews themselves were apparently found to be intolerable by many. The reader is provided here with a graphic depiction of the grim details of life in Warsaw under the Nazi occupation and the isolation & suffering of a man with nowhere to go, other than to find a place to hide & survive under impossibly hostile conditions. Whereas the vast amount of Holocaust memoirs tend to concentrate on the Nazi concentration & death camps, this story is different in that it revolves around survival in and around the Warsaw ghetto. The horrific manner in which the Jews were treated by the Nazis and their allies is really brought home to the reader in an almost detached manner which details how the murders of so many innocent Jews are carried out. The totally insignificant value placed on Jewish lives screams from the pages of this work. For the mere fact of being Jewish, human beings were cold bloodedly murdered on the spot without reason. This book is indeed required reading for anyone interested in the Holocaust and the story itself provides a vital record of the Nazi atrocities outside of the concentration/death camps. The reader is left to wonder how Wladyslaw Szpilman retained his own sanity after witnessing so much death, humiliation and depravation and then watching all his immediate family being herded into the cattle trucks destined for the Treblinka death camp. This proving to just be the "end of the beginning" of this story, with Szpilman's own personal journey of survival yet to play itself out amidst a personification of hatred towards anything Jewish that yells "lest we forget" and "never again". This true story of a Jewish classical pianist who survived his own personal Holocaust is extremely easy to read and very difficult to put down. Watching the film should not offset the requirement to read this book.
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