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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Sarah’s life in the 40’s, the French gathering Jew’s in their own land to send to the concentration camps was very gripping and heart felt and I wanted to learn more but Sarah’s story is only about a third of the book. This story is actually about present day journalist Julia and her love life drama and I could have cared less about her. Her issues when being compared to concentration camps made it seem petty and trivial and weak. Just not a story for me, I’m in the minority obviously so take this review with a grain of salt.
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hard for me to decide on a rating for this book. I enjoyed the book so much that I read it in 2 days. However, I was a little disappointed with the ending...hence 4 stars rather than 5.
All in all, a great read for everyone, especially those interested in WWII/Holocaust. I was completely unaware of the events that occurred in France during German occupation so it was particularly interesting to me how the author fused historical fact with fiction.
All in all, a great read for everyone, especially those interested in WWII/Holocaust. I was completely unaware of the events that occurred in France during German occupation so it was particularly interesting to me how the author fused historical fact with fiction.
What an incredibly moving book. It was so well-written that I just couldn't put it down. Both the viewpoints of Julia and Sarah are overwhelmingly well done. Every single character in this book has such a distinct personality that you never forget any of them. The way the author managed to fashion an intricate subplot into the main plot with Julia was wonderful. It wasn't all completely about Sarah, but in a way, it was.
I absolutely adored this book. There is little to nothing bad that I can say about it. It is one of the closest I have read to a flawless book. It moved me greatly and I feel as if if the effects of this book will stay with me for a very long time. Wonderfully done.
I absolutely adored this book. There is little to nothing bad that I can say about it. It is one of the closest I have read to a flawless book. It moved me greatly and I feel as if if the effects of this book will stay with me for a very long time. Wonderfully done.
Wow. What a book, and what a powerful ending.
Review to come later.
Review to come later.
Inspiring and educational...
I found this book to be rather inspiring, insightful and education. In general, I find learning about the Holocaust rather fascinating and found this book covered a dark era in history in a very sensitive and delicate way.
The book was slightly different to others I have read in this genre as it highlighted an important, and yet often forgotten part of French history during the Second World War - the Vel d'Hiv roundup.
Very briefly, the Vel d'Hiv roundup or the Vélodrome d'Hiver, was an indoor cycling stadium in Paris. The roundup took place in July 1942 and saw the arrest of thousands of Jewish men, women and children across Paris arrested by the French police. They were then imprisoned in the Velodrome in inhumane and inhospitable living conditions.
This is a rather sad and heart-breaking part of history and this book tackled this in a very sensitive way.
The book also follows two parallel plots and centres on the lives of two central characters across two different time periods - Sarah and Julia.
Firstly, Sarah is a little girl who was born in Paris and was arrested as part of the Vel d'HIV roundup in 1942. It then goes on to follow Sarah's story and her search for her younger brother who she left locked in a cupboard in her house.
The novel also centres on Julia who is a journalist in the present day. She is originally from New York and has spent many years living and working in Paris. Julia is asked to write a piece on the Vel d'Hiv roundup for the upcoming anniversary and as a result of her research comes across Sarah's story.
This is a heartbreaking novel which explored both Sarah's life and Julia's discovery of some of Paris' darkest moments.
This book is a powerful and heartbreaking read and one that I struggled to review. I always find reviewing books on the topic of the Holocaust hard as they are so important for remembering and learning from the past.
I would of loved to give this novel more stars, however, I found the ending to be a little dissapointing and felt that Sarah's story could of continued for a bit longer. I felt it ended a little too soon for me. I also found Julia at times to be slightly annoying, although I did like her as a character by the end of the novel.
Furthermore, the writing style made the book clear and easy to read. I also liked and thought it was clever to use a darker bolder font for Sarah's sections, splitting the book up clearly between past and present, Sarah and Julia.
On a final point, the film adaptation of the book is also very good and is worth a watch as it complements the book in bringing the characters and events alive in more vivid detail.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book immensely and found it inspiring and rather educational. I learnt a lot from the book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the Holocaust more generally and events in France or the Vel d'Hiv roundup more specifically. This is a book and a story that will stay with me for many years to come.
I found this book to be rather inspiring, insightful and education. In general, I find learning about the Holocaust rather fascinating and found this book covered a dark era in history in a very sensitive and delicate way.
The book was slightly different to others I have read in this genre as it highlighted an important, and yet often forgotten part of French history during the Second World War - the Vel d'Hiv roundup.
Very briefly, the Vel d'Hiv roundup or the Vélodrome d'Hiver, was an indoor cycling stadium in Paris. The roundup took place in July 1942 and saw the arrest of thousands of Jewish men, women and children across Paris arrested by the French police. They were then imprisoned in the Velodrome in inhumane and inhospitable living conditions.
This is a rather sad and heart-breaking part of history and this book tackled this in a very sensitive way.
The book also follows two parallel plots and centres on the lives of two central characters across two different time periods - Sarah and Julia.
Firstly, Sarah is a little girl who was born in Paris and was arrested as part of the Vel d'HIV roundup in 1942. It then goes on to follow Sarah's story and her search for her younger brother who she left locked in a cupboard in her house.
The novel also centres on Julia who is a journalist in the present day. She is originally from New York and has spent many years living and working in Paris. Julia is asked to write a piece on the Vel d'Hiv roundup for the upcoming anniversary and as a result of her research comes across Sarah's story.
This is a heartbreaking novel which explored both Sarah's life and Julia's discovery of some of Paris' darkest moments.
This book is a powerful and heartbreaking read and one that I struggled to review. I always find reviewing books on the topic of the Holocaust hard as they are so important for remembering and learning from the past.
I would of loved to give this novel more stars, however, I found the ending to be a little dissapointing and felt that Sarah's story could of continued for a bit longer. I felt it ended a little too soon for me. I also found Julia at times to be slightly annoying, although I did like her as a character by the end of the novel.
Furthermore, the writing style made the book clear and easy to read. I also liked and thought it was clever to use a darker bolder font for Sarah's sections, splitting the book up clearly between past and present, Sarah and Julia.
On a final point, the film adaptation of the book is also very good and is worth a watch as it complements the book in bringing the characters and events alive in more vivid detail.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book immensely and found it inspiring and rather educational. I learnt a lot from the book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the Holocaust more generally and events in France or the Vel d'Hiv roundup more specifically. This is a book and a story that will stay with me for many years to come.
I read this book for book club. I enjoyed it as it wasn't a difficult book. I think this is the first book I've ever read that dealt much with French society and certainly the first that spoke much about Vichy France during WWII. I found that aspect the most interesting.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
maybe not the best to read this right after a little life
The story goes back and forth between two different women’s stories that eventually merge together. Each of their stories are different in style and adds to the overall narrative. For Sarah, her family’s Paris apartment was raided by the French on July 16, 1942 along with other Jewish families as part of Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup. Sarah and her parents were arrested in a rash moment, she locked her brother in a cupboard where they use to play. She takes the key with her. Sarah and her family are taken to a holding stadium known as Vel’ d’Hiv’. Her parents were later taken to Auschwitz. Sarah is distraught over her brother being locked in the cupboard. She escapes the camp and tries to get back to Paris to her brother.
Julia’s is an American living in Paris in the year 2002. She is married to a French man. They renovate an old apartment his grandmother owned. Julia is working on a story about the centennial of the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup of Jews in Paris for an American newspaper. No one wants Julia to write this article. Many times her husband and father asks her to not to keep looking into what happened.
The story merges for the women with the renovation of the apartment. Discoveries are made and it’s life changing. The story is fast paced and keeps you hooked by going back and forth between the two timelines. I was not aware of the history of the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup in France. It’s heartbreaking and something we shouldn’t forget. The ending leaves you wondering but overall the history, their journeys were important and kept you reading page after page.
Julia’s is an American living in Paris in the year 2002. She is married to a French man. They renovate an old apartment his grandmother owned. Julia is working on a story about the centennial of the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup of Jews in Paris for an American newspaper. No one wants Julia to write this article. Many times her husband and father asks her to not to keep looking into what happened.
The story merges for the women with the renovation of the apartment. Discoveries are made and it’s life changing. The story is fast paced and keeps you hooked by going back and forth between the two timelines. I was not aware of the history of the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup in France. It’s heartbreaking and something we shouldn’t forget. The ending leaves you wondering but overall the history, their journeys were important and kept you reading page after page.