The Pianist

The memoir of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman, covering his survival in the Warsaw Ghetto and the ruins of the city during the Second World War.

Szpilman does not overdramatise it. He describes events as he saw them, and that matter-of-fact tone makes the book harder to put down, not easier. A lot of his survival came down to timing and help from people he barely knew. I found it heavy going, but I am glad I read it.