Due to difficulty in commenting, I have created a new post to answer the questions.

1. Obviously, the author's life experiences have influenced his story. Without surviving through the Holocaust, he would not have had this story to share.

2. The elements in Szpilman's life included in the book are any related to the Holocaust, mainly his survival throughout the war, but also what he did after the war. He included these so that he could tell the story.

3. Aspects of Szpilman's life that were not included in the book are any times from pre-Holocaust and his life afterwords. This is because both of these times are not relevant to the book.

4. Yes, I consider it to be authentic. This is because it is a memoir, not a novel, so everything that occured in it is true.

Alex Coletta