Reviews tagging 'War'

The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945 by Władysław Szpilman

9 reviews

leonkoenig's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, War, and Deportation

sissiemilia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

It is strange to attempt to rate a personal account of such horrors.  All I can say, is that this might be the most accurate depiction of human nature - in its best and worst. It is also a very unique and important testimony of the horrors of the holocaust, so I truly recommend everyone, but especially fellow history students, to read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

angelikatha's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism, and War

padancer's review against another edition

challenging hopeful sad tense medium-paced

5.0

A must read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Murder

bemysea's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Dysphoria, War, and Deportation

chasekj's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Szpilman’s heart wrenching tale of survival during the Holocaust is one I’ll never forget

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

pandemonicbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Wonderful book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

isabellamaria's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bonitazivot's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

2.5

 I had a hard time getting through this book, and an even harder time rating it because how can you objectively rate a book about such horrible events?

The pianist is graphic, to the point and spared no details. It described how his home, Warsaw, was torn apart and turned into a ghetto. How his family, friends and strangers struggled to survive. How every day, they wondered if it was safe to go out on the streets. How the street was filled with dead bodies and smelled of decay.

Wladyslaw’s story was absolutely heartbreaking, and hard to read. I had many times where I felt at unease, and wanted to put the book down, but it’s such an important story that I made myself get through it.

My one critique is that somehow I felt like the writing was rushed. In 3 sentences you could suddenly be months into the future, or even the next year. It’s rare that I ask for a book to be longer, but I think for a story of such importance, it would have made sense not to rush through the years.

So, on to the rating: First off, I’d like to give a million stars to our writer, and his courage to write of the horrible unimaginable time he went through. His book however, gets a 2.5 out of 5, purely based on the writing style and pace.

Ps if you haven’t seen the movie: I’d highly recommend it, it’s a great representation of the book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Antisemitism, Murder, and War