Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay was a very good read. I probably shouldn't talk about it yet as it was our book club pick & we haven't met yet but......here it goes any way.
Sarah's Key is written in two parts, one in the voice of a 10 year old girl who lived during a terrible time in our world history & the other the voice of a modern day journalist. Each chapter flips back and forth between 1942 and 2002. I loved this writing style for this book for two reasons. First because it really made you want to keep reading, you needed to know what happened in the next chapter. Secondly, because sometime you needed a break from reading some of the things that were too hard to think about.
The story is of Sarah, a young, Jewish girl, growning up in France during the war and Julia, an American journalist living in Paris 60 years later and how their lives are touched by a common bond. Julia is unable to go back to life as she knew it once she starts researching for a story and finds her connection to Sarah.
As a lover of history I always enjoy these types of books. A refresher course in things we should never forget. It is still sometimes hard for me to imagine that something so horrific as the Holocaust happened less than 70 years ago. That in my Grandparents life time we allowed something like this to happen is really hard for me to think about.
These two intertwining stories are beautifully written and easily join together in the end to bring resolution to the story. Although there are still a few things I personally would have liked more completed, over all I thought it ended with satisfaction and closure.
I highly recommend reading this book. It won't take you more than a few chapters to be sucked in. It is my hope that it will take you longer to forget it.
In the words of Sarah.
Zakhor. Al Tichkah.
Remember. Never forget.
4 out of 5 stars
2 comments:
I'm excited for bookclub on Tuesday - will be interesting to see what everyone thinks. I really enjoyed the story as well. I've read a lot of books about the Holocaust, but this is my first in regards to France. I kept hoping for a different outcome, even though I knew it wouldn't happen.
As a new member of the book club, I simply cannot wait to discuss this book with everyone! I loved it and agree with you in that it is written in such a way that you simply HAVE to keep reading to see what happens next. I've always been drawn to stories set during WWII, whether in Europe or in the US. I sometimes think that if I really believed in reincarnation, I lived during that time since I am so drawn to the music, styles, movies and stories from that era. I do find it almost hard to believe that something so horrific as the Holocaust happened, that one man had so much power to decide that a certain group of people were to die . . .that so many innocent adults and children died before he could be stopped. I have been recommending this book to everyone I know and it's one of the best books I've read, by far.
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