I have always been fascinated and appalled by stories of World War II and the Holocaust. After I read The Book Thief back in May, I researched some other books I could read about that time period. I promptly requested Sarah's Key from the library. It finally arrived a month later in Audio Book form, which I never mind since it gives me something to listen to on my commute, so I was excited to start reading!
The story is set in Paris, France, and jumps back and forth between 1942 and 2002. In 1942, a young Jewish girl and her family are taken from their home in the Vel'd' Hiv Roundup and are eventually sent to Auswitch. In 2002, Julia Jarmond is an American writer working in Paris. She is covering the 60th Anniversary of the Vel'd'Hiv Roundup and comes across the story of the young girl from 1942.
I wasn't quite expecting the two different story lines, and I enjoyed the young girls point of view from 1942 much better than forty-five year old Julia's voice in 2002. The young girl's story is told in only the first half of the book, but her voice rings clear and true. Her story is compelling and tragic, and at times I felt sick with horror reading about the awful treatment of Jews in France at that time. I just can't believe this happened. Back in present day, Julia Jarmond is battling her own personal demons, which in comparison to what happened in 1942, seem silly and insignificant. However, everything is tied together neatly and the author tries her best to turn the whole story into a happy ending, despite all the awfulness that happened back in 1942.
While I did tune out at times during Julia's storyline, I enjoyed the book as a whole and I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories of Paris or the Holocaust. It feels wrong to actually "like" stories about that topic though, right?
I've been wanting to read this book but the library NEVER has it in! I agree, it does feel wrong to "like" Holocaust stories. Still, I think the reason we're drawn to them is that we are distanced enough from it that we, like you said, can't really imagine this kind of persecution actually happening and we're trying to understand how it did. I also think it comes back to the good vs. evil factor. Even though we know how many thousands of innocent people died, there's always those stories about the one person that escaped, that triumphed -- everyone likes that! I wonder if they will try and make this novel into a movie?
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