Critical Praise

"Until The Pianist, I had never read a piece so moving that I felt I had to bring it to the screen."Roman Polanski"Remarkable . . . Of lasting historical and human value . . . Overlooked since its publication in 1946 and translated into English just now for the first time, [this is] an account of the Holocaust written in the immediate aftermath of the experience itself."Los Angeles Times Book Review (Named a Best Book of the Year)"Stunning . . . Filled with unforgettable incidents, images, and people."The Wall Street Journal"The Pianist is a great book."The Boston Globe"Historically indispensable."The Washington Post Book World"[The Pianist] joins the ranks of Holocaust memoirs notable as much for their literary value as for their historical significance . . . Szpilman is a remarkably lucid observer and chronicler."Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Staggering . . . Even by the standards set by Holocaust memoirs, this book is a stunner."Seattle Weekly"[Szpilman's] story of courage, fortitude, blind luck, and survival in the Jewish ghetto is extraordinary."Columbus Dispatch"Striking . . . Conveys with exceptional immediacy and cool reportage the author's desperate fight for survival. This is also a book about the power of music, which provides Szpilman the determination to go on and literally saves him several times."Kirkus Reviews"A richly detailed and absorbing work . . . Fascinating for its detail . . . Illuminating and astonishing."Rain Taxi

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