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Written immediately after the end of World War II, this morally complex Holocaust memoir is notable for its exact depiction of the grim details of life in Warsaw under the Nazi occupation. "Things you hardly noticed before took on enormous significance: a comfortable, solid armchair, the soothing look of a white-tiled stove," writes Wladyslaw Szpilman, a pianist for Polish radio when the Germans invaded. His mother's insistence on laying the table with clean linen for their midday meal, even as conditions for Jews worsened daily, makes palpable the Holocaust's abstract horror. Arbitrarily removed from the transport that took his family to certain death, Szpilman does not deny the "animal fear" that led him to seize this chance for escape, nor does he cheapen his emotions by belaboring them. Yet his cool prose contains plenty of biting rage, mostly buried in scathing asides (a Jewish doctor spared consignment to "the most wonderful of all gas chambers," for example). Szpilman found compassion in unlikely people, including a German officer who brought food and warm clothing to his hiding place during the war's last days. Extracts from the officer's wartime diary (added to this new edition), with their expressions of outrage at his fellow soldiers' behavior, remind us to be wary of general condemnation of any group.

From the Critics:
From KLIATT:
This Holocaust memoir was written by a Polish pianist and composer, who, although a Jew, lived through the German occupation of his home city of Warsaw. Written in 1945, apparently without any expectation of publication, it is an unusual book that gives the reader the memories of a victim still in shock, unconcerned with enhancing his story for easy reading. This aspect makes this book frustrating at first, as little background information is given, some irrelevant information is included, and some important things are left out. Nevertheless, this book would be a valuable addition to a Holocaust collection and tells an amazing story of human survival despite unimaginably horrid conditions. Szpilman was a young man and a concert pianist of some renown when the Germans invaded Poland. His story tells of the increasing deprivation suffered by the Jews as the Germans imposed more and more restrictions on them. Ultimately, he and his family were rounded up to be sent to concentration camps, but through an inexplicable stroke of good luck, Szpilman was separated from his family and allowed to escape before boarding the train; he never saw the others again, and his guilt over this is described. For the next three years he lived in hiding in Warsaw, moving from place to place, eating when he could, occasionally finding work. The descriptions of his life are painful and brutal. There is some information about Jewish attempts at resistance, for which Szpilman did what he could. Ultimately, as Szpilman lay near death from starvation and cold, a German officer disgusted with his country's actions saved his life. The book contains an astonishing appendix, added for later editions, of extracts fromthe diary of that heroic officer, and an epilogue, written by Wolf Biermann, explaining more about this German who saved many people during the war. The Pianist is not an easy book to read, due to its lack of literary finesse, but it contains much valuable information to add to a student's understanding of the Holocaust.
KLIATT Codes: SA-Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Barbara Shepp