06 Feb Sarah’s Key
Sarah’s Key, WWII Book
(2008) A novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, based on an event that happened in France on July 16, 1942. As part of Hitler’s “final solution” and under orders from the Nazis, the French Police rounded up thousands of Jewish families, forced from their homes, and delivered them to the Vélodrome d’hiver, a huge indoor stadium not far from the Eiffel Tower. From there they were sent (by the French police still) to various other sites, including the death camp Auschwitz, for extermination. This dark day in French history is known as the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup.
Sarah’s Key does not directly relate to anything I’m writing about, but it had been recommended by several of my friends. “Pat, you’ve got to read this book. It’s World War II.”
I actually listened to the audiobook. When I am driving around (and because of Atlanta’s traffic this is very helpful) I enjoy turning on a book, and yes, I am happiest if it’s about WWII. After the first chapter, I was mesmerized by “the girl,” took the CD’s out of my car and brought them inside to finish. I was done at 11:30 pm.
The story revolves around a Jewish French family that is arrested on July 16, 1942. An American journalist living in Paris is assigned to write about Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup and becomes obsessed with what she learns about this particular Jewish family and how their story is intertwined with her own.
In the first half of the book, we agonize with Sarah as she escapes from one of the camps and returns to Paris to rescue her little brother. I prayed for the best, feared for the worst, and forced myself not to find an online Cliff’s Notes.
Here is what I loved: That so much of it takes place in Paris. That I learned about the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup. It is another example of how effective Hitler’s henchmen were in transforming local and previously trusted officials into brutes. The power the Nazis had to create monsters is hard to comprehend. One of the police who actually knew Sarah from her neighborhood helped her escape but only because no one else was looking. Every few seconds he checked to be sure.
What I didn’t like was that in the second half of the book I felt like I was listening to a romance novel. The downside of listening to an audiobook is that you can’t flip through chapters. Hubba, hubba, let’s get this show on the road.
Related post: Sarah’s Key, the movie
Sarah’s Key, the book, at amazon.com
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