Review of novel by Wladyslaw Szpilman.
This is the real-life journal of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who survived the horror of the Warsaw ghetto during WWII. Although written in 1946, Szpilman has not rearranged any of the events for dramatic effect. He has recorded his story true to chronological order and created a poignantly sad tale, written without embellishment and with a touchingly upfront style. His matter-of-fact tone brings the war torn city of Warsaw to life, showing every detail and leaving the reader in no doubt as to what Szpilman and his family endured. Amazingly, Szpilman, despite the atrocities he witnessed by both the German soldiers and Jewish police, does not lay blame but instead simply recounts the experience leaving the reader to come to their own conclusions. Now made into a major motion picture directed by Roman Polanski, this is a novel that leaves you shocked, angry, moved and above all, amazed at Szpilman’s determination to live. This is a valuable insight into what everyday life during war is like and underlines the fact that, for most, survival is a matter of luck, not necessarily heroism. The Pianist succeeds in giving an event in history, that we still struggle to comprehend, a human face.