Sarah's Key
by Tatiana de Rosnay
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Book Reviews of Sarah's Key
Book Review: An Excellent, Heartbreaking Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book, Sarah's Key, even though I cried almost all through the whole story and carried the sorrow it evoked within me long afterwards. I saw Sarah a little girl in 1942 and I saw Julia, a journalist in 2002 who learns about the roundup of the French Jews, Sarah among them, and sets out to find out what happened to Sarah. Both came alive to carry their story as if they were real and not fictional characters created by the author. I have read a lot of Holocaust stories, but had never heard of non-Germans, non-Nazis carrying out the deportation of the Jewish people. How the French police could act so robotically in this most henious of acts is really upsetting. What would have happened, I wonder, if the entire force had refused to do the Nazi's bidding? It makes one wonder what acts we ourselves might be capable of.
On July 16, 1942, 10,000 French Jews, parents and their children were taken from their homes by the French police to a large enclosure where they endured thirst, hunger,deplorable unsanitary conditions, and most of all a dreaded fear. Afterwards they were separated into three groups, men, women, children, and all but the few who escaped, Sarah among them, were exterminated. I still feel deep sorrow as I write this review, nearly a week after reading the book, and have to hold back the tears for this little 10-year-old Sarah whose heart was broken and who never in her lifetime, ever really mended that broken heart. How many others who survived the horror of those years lived the rest of their lives with broken hearts?
The chapters are short, especially the ones concerning Sarah. They needed to be, so we could stand to read them. I must mention that the French, like people all over the world, have among them, individuals who would risk all, perhaps even lay down their lives to help another human being, and they were the ones who saved Sarah's life even if they couldn't keep her heart from breaking.
Eunice Boeve, Author of Maggie Rose and Sass
Book Review: Harlequin goes to the Holocaust
Summary: 1 Stars
Can all book burning be bad? This thing deserves its own pile. My copy won't end up in my woodstove, but it will be dumped. It's as though the author [title used lightly] read about a less well known part of the Holocaust and had an idea [drum roll for light bulb being lit]: write about it, toss in some anti-French sentiment [have we not left the "American Fries" moment behind?]; use as themes the story of a precocious Jewish child in 1942 who won't be named until about a third way in [spoiler here, "Sarah"], a forty-five year old American [Julia] in 2002 who lives in Paris, whines about the Parisians and her French in-laws, misses her plush life in the States, whines about her French husband, tolerates her husband's abrasive behaviors because he is, after all, French, and his being great in bed makes up for it, has a precocious eleven year old daughter, a luxe life in France, and a lifelong focus on her physical appearance. The author tosses in a yearning romance, stereotypes of both periods, offers not a single character who is not annoying [to include both young girls] or of interest. Apparently an apartment in Paris then/now is so worth it that abiding in one with an appalling history is swallowable. Although the historical event itself is referred to repeatedly, with the author's own hysterical and dramatic spin, it gets lost, which is a great shame. The author took a real piece of history, enveloped it in her whipped cream/sugar spun imaginative view, and left this reader sorry to have wasted the price and the time spent. Whoops, forgot to mention that underneath the nonsence, she's a rotten writer, failing especially in plot, dialogue, character development. The author resorts to deus ex machina to move things along so that the reader gets repeatedly wacked with "didn't see that coming" moments, unexpected but dull. And then there are all the predictable sub plot digressions, the tortured "should I/should I not" and "What Could This/He/She Mean" flits. Phooey.Book Review: Wonderful book!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a really great book. It's so different from the types of books I've been reading. I found the writing style to be inventive and refreshing. The subject matter is hard and deep, but presented in a respectful and thoughtful way.
The story centers on the rounding up, imprisonment and execution of French Jews in 1942. Are you thinking, "What imprisonment of French Jews?" you're not alone. It seems that this "incident" was swept under the rug until President Jacques Chirac apologized for it in 1995. Apparently of the 42,000 French Jews sent to Auschwitz in 1942, only 811 survived.
The story centers around Julia, an American journalist living in Paris, who is assigned an article on the 60th anniversary of the Vel d'Hiv, named for the arena that the French Jews were brought to when they were arrested by French police in the middle of the night. It was from there that they were brought to internment camps and then, eventually, Auschwitz. Julia becomes enthralled by the story and by its coverup in the aftermath. Upon further digging, she realizes that her family's apartment was only available after a Jewish family was taken from it that night. She becomes obsessed with that family and their tragic story.
Tangled in Julia's story is the story of the little girl who lived in the apartment. This book is a 2-for-1. You get the first hand narative of being woken by the police, crammed in the Vel d'Hiv for 6 days and the internment. Tragic is the only word I can think of to describe what happened to this poor family. You also get the horror of a person discovering this event for the first time, 60 years later, and the havoc it wreaks on her life. She learns things about her in-laws and herself that draw her closer to some and apart from others.
This story is well-written. It's one of those books where you know the author worked really hard to make it come out just right. I don't want to spoil it. Just read it and find out!
Book Review: You can skip this one and it wouldn't make a difference
Summary: 3 Stars
Synopsis: In this novel, the author brings a fiction story based on the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, where Jewish families were arrested and transported to Auschwitz.
Julia Harmond, a forty-five-year-old writer for an American magazine, has been assigned by her editor to cover the coming 60th anniversay of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. While doing this assignment, she learns that the apartment she is planning to move into with her husband was once the house of a Jewish family that were part of the deportation 60 years ago. The more she learns about the family, especially about the 10-year-old daughter, Sarah, who was the only one who survived, the more she learns about her husband and his family's background, France, and ultimately, herself.
Review: In this book, the author used an effective method of alternating the past (1942) with the present.The historical plot and storyline makes this compelling, interesting, and intriguing. But even though there were good points, I don't think it was that good overall.
It started to lose its appeal by the middle of the book, that it lost me with it as well. There were unnecessary ramblings, and random events that might have been better if they were taken out or edited better. The modern life overshadows the tragedy of the past, making it seem like a book full of rants and complains of a not-so-likable character, suffering from mid-life crisis. (Sorry)
In short, the story had great potential. The writing was good, but nothing special. The issues were not used and dealt with efficiently.
I just feel that if only it was handled differently by another author, it would have ultimately be a better book. Don't get me wrong, it is not a HORRIBLE book, but it is not GREAT either. Also, I can think of so many other different titles dealing with this storyline and issues that you will find so much better. This one is not so worth it. Personally, if I were you, I'd skip it.
Book Review: A tragic story from the Holocaust
Summary: 4 Stars
This book came highly recommended to me by my Aunt and I have to pass on my high recommendations for this book to you all.
This novel tells two stories - both set in Paris, France, but 60 years apart. You have the story taking place in 1942 - told through the eyes of a 10 year old child. With this perspective, you are not told everything, but we as the reader can start to put pieces together for a more complete story. In her story the characters do not have names - they are just mother, brother, father, etc. For me, the fact that people were not given names - made this anyone's story; it wasn't necessarily just the story of Sarah and her family's traumatic event, but the story of any of the families affected by the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup.
The other story is the 2002 story - this is the story of Julia - an American ex-patriot living in France. She is a journalist and begins writing a story about the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup for the magazine that she works for and becomes so absorbed with the story of this little girl, Sarah. As the novel bounces back and forth between time periods, you can use the information you learn through Julia's research to help understand what is going on in Sarah's story.
About half-way through the novel the two stories merge in a shocking way. You learn the names and fates of the characters and at that point it becomes Sarah's story - no longer is it the generic story of any little girl.
This is a very sad and traumatic story - you will likely need a few tissues. Although the events are sad, the fact that Julia is doing this research and determined to bring these events back into the minds of the public who have forgotten, is admirable and something that I think should happen more often. If we don't remember, we forget - it's a very straightforward concept. For me, the writing was flawless and the story was so inspirational and taught me a lot.
4.5 out of 5 stars.