Sarah's Key

Rosnay, Tatiana de. (2007). Sarah's Key. New York: St. Martin's Press.


Annotation: Can Julia uncover the story of the 1942 Vel' D'Hiv roundups in German Occupied France?


Summary: On July 16, 1942 more than 10,000 French Jews were arrested by the French police, kept for about a week in horrid conditions in the Vel' D'Hiv in Paris. They were then sent to internment camps in France, and ultimately on to Auschwitz. The story is a fictional account of Sarah who is arrested along with her mother and father, as well as the parallel story of an American journalist in France who discovers what happened to Sarah, and to all of the Jews on that day. 


Review: Until reading this book, I too, was completely unaware of the story of Vel' D'Hiv. This historical novel offers a compelling look at conditions that bred French complacency and drobe people to commit crimes against their own neighbors. The use of alternating chapters, half telling the story as it happened in 1942 through Sarah's eyes, and half set in 2002 as Julia Jarmond uncovers the facts about what happened that summer long ago and explores what that history means to her and her family makes this a story that many will not want to put down.


Possible recommends: The Book Thief, books by Chris Bohjalian


Rating: 4Q/4P