The Pianist : The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45
'You can learn more about human nature from this brief account of the survival of one man throughout the war years in the devastated city of Warsaw than from several volumes of the average encyclopaedia' Independent on Sunday 'We are drawn in to share his surprise and then disbelief at the horrifying progress of events, all conveyed with an understated intimacy and dailiness that render them painfully close'riveting' Observer 'The images drawn are unusually sharp and clear'but its moral tone is even more striking: Szpilman refuses to make a hero or a demon out of anyone' Literary Review
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
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. --Wendy Smith
From the Publisher:
"[Szpilman's] account is hair-raising beyond anything Hollywood could invent...an altogether unforgettable book." -- THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
"[Szpilman's] shock and ensuing numbness become ours, so that acts of ordinary kindness or humanity take on an aura of miracle. --THE OBSERVER
"Rarely has the sheer claustrophobia of living in the Warsaw Ghetto been so vividly conveyed as it is by Szpilman." --THE INDEPENDENT
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 9.71
Shipping:
FREE
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Pianist (Paperback)
Published by
Orion Publishing Co, United Kingdom
(2003)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: 10
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Language: English. Brand new Book. The powerful and bestselling memoir of a young Jewish pianist who survived the war in Warsaw against all odds. Made into a Bafta and Oscar-winning film.'You can learn more about human nature from this brief account of the survival of one man throughout the war years in the devastated city of Warsaw than from several volumes of the average encyclopaedia' Independent on Sunday'We are drawn in to share his surprise and then disbelief at the horrifying progress of events, all conveyed with an understated intimacy and dailiness that render them painfully close - riveting' Observer'A book so fresh and vivid, so heartbreaking, and so simply and beautifully written, that it manages to tell us the story of horrendous events as if for the first time' Daily Telegraph. Seller Inventory # HUK9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 9.71
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist (Paperback)
Published by
Orion Publishing Co, United Kingdom
(2003)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: 10
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Language: English. Brand new Book. The powerful and bestselling memoir of a young Jewish pianist who survived the war in Warsaw against all odds. Made into a Bafta and Oscar-winning film.'You can learn more about human nature from this brief account of the survival of one man throughout the war years in the devastated city of Warsaw than from several volumes of the average encyclopaedia' Independent on Sunday'We are drawn in to share his surprise and then disbelief at the horrifying progress of events, all conveyed with an understated intimacy and dailiness that render them painfully close - riveting' Observer'A book so fresh and vivid, so heartbreaking, and so simply and beautifully written, that it manages to tell us the story of horrendous events as if for the first time' Daily Telegraph. Seller Inventory # HUK9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 12.73
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist : The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45
Published by
Orion Publishing Group, Limited
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. new. Seller Inventory # Wizard0753814056
Buy New
US$ 9.46
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist
Published by
Orion 2002-12-31, London
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
paperback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 9.61
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Pianist (Paperback)
Published by
Orion Publishing Co, London
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'You can learn more about human nature from this brief account of the survival of one man throughout the war years in the devastated city of Warsaw than from several volumes of the average encyclopaedia' Independent on Sunday 'We are drawn in to share his surprise and then disbelief at the horrifying progress of events, all conveyed with an understated intimacy and dailiness that render them painfully close.riveting' Observer 'The images drawn are unusually sharp and clear.but its moral tone is even more striking: Szpilman refuses to make a hero or a demon out of anyone' Literary Review The powerful memoir of a young Jewish pianist who survived the war in Warsaw against all odds. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 15.37
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45
Published by
W&N 2002-12-31
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6959-GRD-9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 13.87
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist
Published by
Orion Books Ltd.
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Softcover
Quantity: 3
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. pp. 224. Seller Inventory # 6237435
Buy New
US$ 9.80
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45
Published by
Phoenix Press
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: 2
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 224 pages. 7.83x5.08x0.71 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0753814056
Buy New
US$ 5.60
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45
Published by
W&N 2002-12-31
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6959-HCE-9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 15.63
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Pianist
Published by
Orion Publishing Co
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0753814056
ISBN 13: 9780753814055
New
Paperback / softback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. The powerful and bestselling memoir of a young Jewish pianist who survived the war in Warsaw against all odds. Made into a Bafta and Oscar-winning film. Seller Inventory # B9780753814055
Buy New
US$ 10.70
Convert currency