by Tatiana de Rosnay
"Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life."
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life."
Sarah's Key wasn't what I expected - not only did it deal with what happened to the children of France during a tragic time of Jewish oppression, but it also provided a contemporary perspective of its happenings, as it affected a woman living in mondern day France. I began reading Sarah's Key with the impression it would solely be a historical fiction novel, and the book's different focus caught me by surprise.
I enjoyed reading from Julia's point of view and found her conflicts with her husband to be very realistic, and I was sympathetic with her. The cultural elements of France were interesting to read about, and the way her character was formed by a mixture of her American background and French mannerisms made Julia more real to me.
Unfortunately, I wasn't as strongly connected to the story as I would've liked to be. For me, there wasn't enough of the second storyline, that of Sarah's, of 1942. Perhaps I felt that way because it was what I was expecting to read when I picked this book up, but I just wasn't able to fully emotionally invest myself in this story.
Having said that, the writing style of Sarah's Key was very clever, contemplative, and moving. I enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed reading from Julia's point of view and found her conflicts with her husband to be very realistic, and I was sympathetic with her. The cultural elements of France were interesting to read about, and the way her character was formed by a mixture of her American background and French mannerisms made Julia more real to me.
Unfortunately, I wasn't as strongly connected to the story as I would've liked to be. For me, there wasn't enough of the second storyline, that of Sarah's, of 1942. Perhaps I felt that way because it was what I was expecting to read when I picked this book up, but I just wasn't able to fully emotionally invest myself in this story.
Having said that, the writing style of Sarah's Key was very clever, contemplative, and moving. I enjoyed this book.
3/5 stars.
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