Customer Reviews

Sarah's Key

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"In the author's own words "This is not a historical work and has no intention of being one. It is my tribute to the children of the Vel d'Hiv." Although not as detailed as some historical fiction, this novel certainly succeeds in dragging the reader headfirst into the events of 16th July 1942 when French Police conducted a massive round up of Jews in Paris in order to "forward" them to Auschwitz.We are drawn into two intertwining stories, the first, that of Sarah, a 10 yr old girl who experiences these horrific events in 1942 and the second, contemporary story, that of Julia Jarmond, an American born journalist who is investigating events surrounding the Vel d'Hiv round up. As their stories unfold we see how the past is inextricably linked to the present and we share Julia's intense interest in the fate of Sarah and her family. This is a gripping, poignant story based on real events and is filled with vivid, charismatic characters. The dual time frame is never unwieldy and the reader is swept along by flowing, seamless writing from the 40s to the present day - symptomatic perhaps of how the events of the past still dictate and inform present events and how we should "never forget". I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a well written story with engaging characters and having an interest in World War II fiction is not a prerequisite. Sarah's Key is a story about people rather than events and Sarah will stay with me for a very long time."

If you only read one book in 2008 ,let this be it...from the first page I was hooked and didn't come up for breath until the story was finished and Sarah's tale was told. Historically accurate, and focused on a largely unknown historical period in WW2 Paris, Sarah's story will keep you reading long into the night.I felt grief stricken when the story was done and mourned for the characters who had become part of my life and who will remain with me for a very long time.

After reading the first few pages, nothing in my life seemed as important as finding out the fate of Sarah and her brother in this gripping, sensitive and immensely moving book. Initially the book alternates between 1941 and nearly present day, and you find yourself much less interested in the current story. However, this does give relief to the intensity of Sarah's story, and the modern story becomes more interesting as it goes on. I cried for days over this wonderful book - at times you don't want to read on, fearful of what might happen, but it is so well written that you must. I read it over 6 months ago, but I still think of it every now and again. Everyone should read this book. Unforgettable.

My husband's family is Jewish. His grandfather's parents and siblings were killed in a concentration camp; his grandmother was French. So, I wondered if they had told my husband anything about this round-up of Jews by the French police. Unfortunately, my husband's grandparents are deceased now, so we can't ask them for details, but my hsuband said, "Yes. That was how my grandfather lost his family - that's why they died in a concentration camp."

Even though the characters are entirely fictitious, the story is based on a historical event. On July 16th, 1942, the French police rounded up Jewish families. Very few survived - most were sent on by train to be killed in the German camps.

Apparently, everyone likes to think that it was all the fault of the Germans. That is the basis of the story. A journalist, Julia Jarmond, is told to write about this round-up. While she is gathering details, she finds out that her French husband's family moved into the apartment of a Jewish family that was taken away by the French police. Her husband's family, particularly her father-in-law, tells her to leave the past alone. She soon realizes that something specific happened during the round-up, involving her in-laws.

The book actually begins with Sarah's story, from her point in time. (The author uses different type-setting for Sarah's and Julia's perspectives, so when you begin each chapter, you already know which point in time to expect.) When the police come for Sarah's family, she thinks they will be able to return - after all, it is the FRENCH police, not the Nazis themselves. Her brother chooses to hide in a hidden cupboard, so Sarah locks him in, and takes the key with her. While they are leaving, Sarah is trying to decide where she could leave the key for her father to find. Her father was already hiding because the Jews were under the impression that only the men had to fear being taken away to the camps. As we find out later, not only were the children taken as well, but they were torn from their parents, and were among the first to be killed in the camps.

Sarah escapes; she is obsessed with returning to her brother, even though a part of her thinks it may already be too late for him. This is where Julia's story takes over the rest of the book. Julia finds out that Sarah grew up, and had a son of her own; however, Julia wants to find out if Sarah ever made it back to her brother, for better or worse. Julia discovers that her own in-laws know the fate of the brother, and that of Sarah.

I thought this was one of the saddest stories I have ever read, but it was definitely one of the best. It was very well written - never any confusion with the two different timelines, and the author merges the two personal stories quite smoothly towards the last chapters. I was eager to find out more about the real historical event, and happily found a list of recommended books in the back, including:

Not the Germans Alone: A Son's Search for the Truth of Vichy
Betrayal at the VEL D'HIV
Those Who Save Us

I got hooked up to this book quickly and the beginning was so promising. I really like two unfolding stories going in parallel, especially that each story bit was very short. I am Russian and I do not remember being taught in school what happened in France in 1942. I found the book very useful in the way that it made me learn, feel for and remember those who had gone through such terror. However, by the time I got to the middle of the book and Sarah's story merged into Julia's it became a little boring to read about Julia and Bertrand's relationship, the story started to resemble a cheap romance book. It felt like another person had picked up writing. Rather dull descriptions of Julia's feelings, her decisions to move to New York are so detailed it made me wonder why they were put in the same book and given the same amount of attention as the terrible events of July 1942? I have found the ending very disappointing, predictable and it has spoiled my impression of the book.

I read the French version before I realise the author half British wrote it first in English, so I read it again (in the English version) and was strike by the power and the sadness: this is a book that tells the truth of one of France's darkest pasts, the "Velodrome d'Hiver rafle " which was done by the French police under German Occupations ; it is easy to read even for non English reader like me, a good way of knowing more of these historics moment. A strong book that remains long times with one.

Sarah's Key is a dual story told from both a pre and post war perspective. In 2002 Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the WW11 roundup of Jews in Paris, uncovers her French family's past secret.

Like many readers, I was unaware of the desperate, dire days of the Vel'd'Hiv in Nazi-occupied Paris, conducted not by the Germans but by the French police; using French trains to cart Jewish families to their deaths. It is only right that this story is told - I just think the wrong person is telling the tale. If an author ventures to create entertainment out of historical tragedy, she/he needs to write the fiction to compliment the facts.

The writing in the 'modern tale' is unbelievably mediocre; the plot is predictable, full of one dimensional, self indulgent characters. And the whining protagonist makes some unforgivable errors of judgement.

I'm sorry, but I think the merit of 'Sarah's Key' lies in the historical event rather than its literary value. The atrocities which began at the Velodrome d'Hiver (torn down in 1959) deserve a far better memorial than Tatiana De Rosnay was ever capable of producing. In my opinion, Chic-Lit meets the Holocaust is an insult. But I am prepared to value this novel with three stars simply because the author has managed to highlight a little known war crime - which we all need to remember.

This book holds a wonderful idea for a novel - unfortunately it is not remotely realised. The story of the child locked in a cupboard while his family are taken away by the French police in occupied France and the subsequent story of his sister's journey is a fantastic premise for a novel . Unfortunately the majority of the book evolves into glorified chic lit and not even well written chick lit at that. The dreadful juxtaposition of a middle aged woman's shallow love life is a horrific affront to the harrowing story of occupied France. The modern day story of the women's life rivals the tedium of of Eat, Pray, Love with a sprinkle of Holocaust Tragedy to add needed gravity.

There are so, so many worthy, well written stories of the war period - this is not one of them. It left me untouched, annoyed and bored. Try the Book Thief, Stones from the River, or Alone in Berlin instead for a gripping and moving read.

Sarah's Key is written with parallel chapters, one telling the story of the round up of Jews in July 1942 by the French Police. Ten year old Sarah thinks they are only being taken for a few hours and locks her terrified brother in a secret cabinet thinking he'll be safe and takes the key with her, as Sarah, her parents and many others are sent to the Vel' d'Hiv for processing to eastern "labor camps". Julia Jarmond is an American journalist assigned to write about the Vel' d'Hiv for the 60th anniversary of a dark moment in French history that many would prefer to forget. Julia finds out about Sarah and her brother in the secret cabinet and a connection to her husband's family and this information drives her to uncover the secrets to Sarah's past.

That said, I have mixed feelings about this book. The chapters telling Sarah's story of the round up, the conditions in the Vel' d'Hiv, the children being ripped from their parents by their own countrymen, Jews being packed into cattle cars for deportation to "labor camps", and most especially her terror at realizing that her brother is locked in a cabinet that only she has the key to release him were unputdownably gripping.

On the other side of the coin, Julia's story started off interestingly enough but once Sarah's voice left about halfway through the book, things quickly deteriorated into much too short two page chapters. Instead of seriously dealing with the mindset of the French and how they buried the round up into forgotten obscurity, the author takes Julia's story into a not terribly exciting tale of an unfaithful husband having a mid life crises, an unplanned pregnancy that finally culminates in a reasonably predictable and trite ending. The Vel' d'Hiv round up is a fascinating and little known bit of French history and I would have preferred to have a book devoted entirely to Sarah's story, and her experiences later in life and how she dealt with her grief over the fate of her brother and parents. 3/5 stars - this story just left me feeling half empty after a not too satisfying meal and hungry for something more.

I very luckily had this book on me the day I got stuck underground on a broken Jubilee line tube train for 3 hours and I couldn't have been happier to be there so that I was not interrupted. I read the whole book cover to cover and ripped it in half so the woman next to me could start too.
It is utterly compelling, touching, horrifying and you cannot put it down. I did however have to keep glancing up and fixing wet eyes elsewhere whilst I made massive gulps so as not to just sob in the middle of that tube carriage.
It's a top ten ever for me, just read it, totally brilliant.