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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was incredibly slow to start. But once it picked up, I couldn't put it down! The story is heartbreaking from both the perspective of both timelines.
This book was incredible. There's still so much I don't know about the holocaust and this book was enlightening and heartbreaking.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I was hooked from the beginning and was intrigued and horrified at the same time. But I was disappointed with how the book/plot seemed to lose steam at the end. The last few chapters seemed almost shallow compared to the first 3/4 of the book. Regardless, I really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down, and would definitely recommend to others!
After reading mixed reviews, I was wary when starting this book. Some readers didn't like the main character, Julia; they thought that her story interfered with Sarah's story in a way that trivialized the latter. I couldn't disagree more.
The story -- the first half, anyway -- is told from the title character's point of view in 1942, juxtaposed with the Julia's point of view in the present day. Without giving too much away, Julia is a journalist who stumbles across Sarah's life via both professional and personal avenues. Initially researching the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup for an article, she continues to search post-publication in an attempt to discover the rest of Sarah's story after the trail ends.
This was a really quick read, and I must say, I was fairly impressed at the amount of, well, story that de Rosnay fit into the 293 pages. Why didn't I give it four stars? I found some parts of Julia's narrative a bit too . . . something. It wasn't about her, per se, but something kept me on the surface of her world, rather than in it, which is how I felt about Sarah's world.
About halfway through the book, Sarah's point of view ends, and we are left with Julia and her attempt to reconcile the past with her present. Rather than Julia's modern-day woes taking away from the story, I found it to be an example of the struggle to remember tragedies that feel so far removed from where we are now, and how to move forward while still finding a way to meaningfully remember and to memorialize without remaining in the past.
The story -- the first half, anyway -- is told from the title character's point of view in 1942, juxtaposed with the Julia's point of view in the present day. Without giving too much away, Julia is a journalist who stumbles across Sarah's life via both professional and personal avenues. Initially researching the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup for an article, she continues to search post-publication in an attempt to discover the rest of Sarah's story after the trail ends.
This was a really quick read, and I must say, I was fairly impressed at the amount of, well, story that de Rosnay fit into the 293 pages. Why didn't I give it four stars? I found some parts of Julia's narrative a bit too . . . something. It wasn't about her, per se, but something kept me on the surface of her world, rather than in it, which is how I felt about Sarah's world.
About halfway through the book, Sarah's point of view ends, and we are left with Julia and her attempt to reconcile the past with her present. Rather than Julia's modern-day woes taking away from the story, I found it to be an example of the struggle to remember tragedies that feel so far removed from where we are now, and how to move forward while still finding a way to meaningfully remember and to memorialize without remaining in the past.
This is the story of Sarah, a Jewish girl who is rounded up along with her mother and father and hundreds of other Jewish families in Paris on July 16, 1942. What she, her family, and their friends and neighbors go through, is deeply disturbing, but riveting. I couldn't put the book down at times and what I read haunted me.
Her story is interwoven with the story of Julia, an American journalist married to a Frenchman in Paris 60 years later. As Julia begins researching the story of the Jewish roundup, she uncovers Sarah's story and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. I found Julia's story less intriguing. In fact, I thought some of Julia's actions and her quest to find Sarah were downright annoying.
I would have liked this book much more if it had just been Sarah's story. I thought it was compelling enough to stand on its own and I was disappointed when Sarah exited the book. I wanted to know more about her life.
If I could, I'd give the portions of this book about Sarah 4, maybe even 5, stars. But the Julia story, particularly the last 80 pages or so, brings it down overall.
Her story is interwoven with the story of Julia, an American journalist married to a Frenchman in Paris 60 years later. As Julia begins researching the story of the Jewish roundup, she uncovers Sarah's story and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. I found Julia's story less intriguing. In fact, I thought some of Julia's actions and her quest to find Sarah were downright annoying.
I would have liked this book much more if it had just been Sarah's story. I thought it was compelling enough to stand on its own and I was disappointed when Sarah exited the book. I wanted to know more about her life.
If I could, I'd give the portions of this book about Sarah 4, maybe even 5, stars. But the Julia story, particularly the last 80 pages or so, brings it down overall.
I was concerned about reading another WWII novel and was feeling like I had read all there was to read about Holocaust fiction. Sarah's Key offers a new perspective, following the French government's complicit involvement in the evacuation and extermination of French Jews under the Vichy government. The novel features the parallel stories of a modern American journalist living in France and a young Jewish girl attempting to escape and save her brother. A quick and compelling read.
Fascinating, but sad, story of Jewish roundup in France during WWII. De Rosnay is an excellent author. The parallel story of a modern-day journalist researching the Jewish story is also good, although the ending didn't seem quite real to me.
Great job of weaving the past with the present. Interesting point of view on WWII - a story not often told.