Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

I have been wanting to read this one for a while.  That is the problem with my obnoxiously large 'to read' pile, and not being able to say no to new review opportunities!!  I just cannot read them all at once!  I am so glad I finally brought Sarah's Key to the top of my pile!  It was a great read.  While definitely not a "feel good" novel, it was well-written, emotional, and filled with vivid characters and history.  I would highly recommend this book, especially for those who like historical fiction and WWII/holocaust stories.
Points of view alternate between Sarah, a young Jewish girl from Paris during WW2 and Julia Jarmond, a present-day journalist.  This writing technique worked beautifully as Julia researches the Vel'd'Hiv and learns that there is a connection between the historic event and her family.  As Julia's research finally catches up to the narrative of Sarah's experience, she begins looking for Sarah.  The historical aspect is realistic and horrible.  Julia's experience learning about parts of the war she hadn't known about is also realistic and easy to understand. (How much happened that most of us know nothing about?)  I would highly recommend Sarah's Key.  It is a great book about a difficult subject, and there is hope at the end which I like.

Comments

Linda said…
Just added to my long list of TBR. I like learning about WWII. Thank you for bringing it to light.
This has been on my list for so long. And, I'm with you on the saying no thing. It's so hard when there are so many great books out there for review. My TBR stack never seems to shrink as much as I think it should!

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Belgie said…
I read this in 3 nights...I just couldn't put it down! It satisfied my desire for historical stoytelling, even if it's couched in fiction, as well as for a good mystery. I had never heard of the Vel d' Hiv story before this book, but it didn't matter; the author explains the background quite thoroughly throughout the narrative.

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