I have read a lot of books in my time, but I this has certainly been one of the most touching stories that I have read. This is a book that grabs at your heart and won't let go. It gives you valuable insight into what people who were involved in the Jewish roundup during WWII went through, from a unique "firshand" perspective. This book is a work of fiction, but is based upon historical facts and gives a vivid description of the time period and the Vel' d'Hiv roundup.
July 1942 marked a dark period in the history of France where thousands of Jewish families were rounded up and kept in the Velodrome d'Hiver for days with little to no food, no toilet facilities, no medical facilities, and horrible conditions. They were then sent off to transit camps in France such as Drancy, before being packed off to Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp. What is so unnerving about this whole incident is that the rounding up and mobilisation of Jews for deportation was done by the French authorities, a fact that is known by very few.
This book centers on two different character's, Julia and Sarah's, perspectives. Sarah is a young girl who was captured in the roundup and after leaving her little brother behind desperately tries to return to save him. Julia is a novelist who lives in Paris who discovers that Sarah and her family lived in an apartment that her family owns and sets out to discover Sarah's story. In the process she discovers that delving into the past can change not only your entire life, but the lives of others as well. This focuses on Julia's search for the truth, and for happiness in life.
Sarah's Key is a book that certainly makes you realize how lucky so many of us are. It gives you a very emotional, first-hand perspective into that time in history and makes you feel as if you are actually there. This is a very poignant and touching story that is most certainly worth a read. I personally would recommend it to anyone, especially those who have any interest in World War II and the Holocaust.
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"He had closed his eyes..."
This novel is about the tremendous sin of the Shoah and the complicity of those French people who went along with the Nazis to murder thousands of children, as well as mothers and fathers, held in the Velodrome d'Hiver in July 1942 and then shipped to die at Auschwitz. As the beginning quote implies, it is about the harm done by closing one's eyes to evil. But even more than that, it is about secrets, kept for fear of hurting others, and how keeping such secrets often does more harm than the painful truth itself.Julia, an American, marries into a French family and discovers, through researching the story of the Vel d'Hiv, that this family has an intimate connection to Sarah, one of the children who was held there. The story of this connection is gradually revealed and its revelation exposes the rifts within the family itself. Some welcome the truth, but some would rather have kept their eyes closed. Marriages are broken - not necessarily by the secret itself, but by people's reactions to the truth and the interaction of deeper values which have been held in a delicate balance by the silence.There are also those whose eyes were open at the time and who dared to risk their lives by helping Sarah live. Their lives are scarred as well. Such stories are familiar to us from many Holocaust survivor memoirs, but Tatiana de Rosnay has brought one particular child's fictional experience to vivid life in an unforgettable way. The story spans several countries and generations, and despite much tragedy, it ends well, with two people deciding that the pain of open eyes is balanced by the joy of truly knowing and sharing another's deep experience.This is a marvelous book, not to be missed. Also check out this link...to a memorial in Square Adolphe Chérioux...(...)
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Heart wrenching but a must read !
Reviewed in India on August 21, 2021
Yackqueen
A beautifully told story of a very sad time in French history.
Reviewed in Australia on August 8, 2018
Sverre Svendsen
A brilliant literary quest for a child's fate
Reviewed in Canada on November 4, 2012