Goodreads | Sarah's Key (Paperback) by Tatiana de Rosnay

rating	frequency	%
5		40%
4		40%
3		14%
2		2%
1		1%

Sandi rated it:

08/26/08

bookshelves: 2008, first-reads, gr-authors

Read in August, 2008

recommended to Sandi by: First Reads

I finished "Sarah's Key" this morning and I have so many thoughts going through my head about it. I loved the pacing of the story, how it switched between Sarah's story and Julia's story up until the point where the two merged. I loved how the style of Sarah's story was completely different than the style of Julia's story. I loved how both stories made me cry, even though I knew what was coming. I loved how realistically the characters were portrayed. Nobody was all good or all ba...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

Lisa rated it:

08/25/08

bookshelves: advance-copy, fiction, first-reads, gr-authors, reviewed

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: all who enjoy holocaust literature, historical fiction novels, well crafted novels

I wasn’t sure how the back and forth chapters between one girl in 1942 and a different woman in 2002 were going to work for me, but this story is so well told.

I thought I’d be interested in the 1942 story but wasn’t sure how much I’d become involved with the 2002 story, but much to my relief I enjoyed both stories, although I did think Sarah’s 1942 story was slightly stronger than Julia’s 2002 story. However, I do think my favorite character might be Zoe from the 2002 story.

R...more I wasn’t sure how the back and forth chapters between one girl in 1942 and a different woman in 2002 were going to work for me, but this story is so well told.

I thought I’d be interested in the 1942 story but wasn’t sure how much I’d become involved with the 2002 story, but much to my relief I enjoyed both stories, although I did think Sarah’s 1942 story was slightly stronger than Julia’s 2002 story. However, I do think my favorite character might be Zoe from the 2002 story.

Reading this was chilling, suspenseful, devastating, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. It’s about loss and the destructive power of secrets, both of which are subjects close to my heart, so it was very emotionally powerful for me.

I thought that the author created perfect cadence in her writing style; I loved it. I read it in two days as I was loathe to put it down.

The tale seemed mostly authentic, occasionally something rang slightly off but I didn’t take note and those moments were ones I forgot because the story as a whole rang true. It’s one of those tales made as vivid by fiction as by a non-fiction account, not diluted at all by the parallel story lines.

There were a couple of plot points that I think were meant to be subtle mysteries and that were glaringly obvious to me ahead of the reveal but, even though I noticed them and could tell the author was not being as clever as she meant to be, they did not really diminish my enjoyment of the book, but they did almost cause me to deduct a star from my rating.

I was ignorant of the specific event that took place in Paris in Nazi occupied France that’s the center of this story and I’ve read a lot of non-fiction and fiction holocaust books; I really appreciated this one because I do always enjoy learning new things, however disturbing.

The back of this paperback (advance readers’) edition has an author interview, historical perspective notes, recommended reading (many of the listed books will now go on my to-read shelf) and reading group questions.

This is now one of my treasured books. I am so grateful that I won it at Goodreads’ First Reads program. As soon as I saw it listed there, it went on my to-read list, but given the length of that list I’m not sure when I’d have actually read it; I am so glad that I did.
...less

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

7 comments

Michelle rated it:

09/02/08

bookshelves: fiction, first-reads-giveaway, highly-recommended---must-reads, history, own

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: everyone

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

First Reads Giveaway book...expected in mail any time now...Will post review when I get thru reading it.

Received today, 26 August 2008...will start reading today! The only thing I think I am dreading about the book is the fate of the brother left in the locked closet. The rest I can steel myself against, LOL.

This is, I believe, the one of the BEST book I have read in a very long time!!! And I normally avoid books with the Holocaust as even a remote topic. Just because I get disgusted ...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Susan rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

02/08/08

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Susan by: Nancy Burke

The book concerns a part of French history that I didn't know about (i'm embarrassed to say). On July 16, 1942 more than 10,000 French Jews were arrested by the French police, kept for about a week in horrid conditions in the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris, then sent first to internment camps in France, and then on to Auschwitz. The story is a fictional account of one young girl who, with her family, is arrested, and then the parallel story of an American woman married to a Frenchman who discove...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

GirlwiththeBraids rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

11/06/08

Read in November, 2008

recommended to GirlwiththeBraids by: St. Martin's Reading Group Gold

On July 16th 1942, Sarah’s life changed forever. French policemen were going door-to-door through Paris arresting Jewish families to bring to the Vel’ d’ Hiv and then taken to camps where their lives would be put to an end. Frightened, ten-year-old Sarah locks her little brother in their secret hiding place, while she holds the key and thinks that she will come back that night. What she doesn’t know is that she will be gone for months…

60 years later, Julia, an American journalist, ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

3 comments

Mary Jo rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

09/03/08

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Mary Jo by: firstreads giveaway
recommends it for: general fiction, historical fiction

This was a firstreads giveaway book isbn 0312370849 from St. Martin's Press which I was thriled to be able to review.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay

Yellow stars worn like scarlet letters, branding those that wore it, ultimately becoming a death sentence, a slow realization that life is not fair and elders are unable to protect their young. Evil and hatred become the accepted social consequence for those displaying the yellow star which Sarah’s own parents had encouraged her to wear pro...more This was a firstreads giveaway book isbn 0312370849 from St. Martin's Press which I was thriled to be able to review.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay

Yellow stars worn like scarlet letters, branding those that wore it, ultimately becoming a death sentence, a slow realization that life is not fair and elders are unable to protect their young. Evil and hatred become the accepted social consequence for those displaying the yellow star which Sarah’s own parents had encouraged her to wear proudly.

This is the story of fear and ignorance, of a societal shift which allowed the inhabitants of a community to justify their actions by turning away and pretending they did not see, being blind to the atrocities all around them. Time cannot heal all wounds and the dark secrets that have been hidden are still being largely ignored by future generations in this community and through out the world.

This is the story of one such family, of the trials they faced and the ultimate price that was paid by all members of the family. Sarah’s key representing what Sarah perceives as the ultimate betrayal and how she kept the key as a reminder of this horrible circumstance and its outcome. How the acts of July 16, 1942 affected the family currently residing in the home of Sarah’s family circa 2002, because they turned a blind eye, and of Sarah’s own family as they came to grips with the finality of their situation and inability to resolve the circumstance.

The author flips between the past and present alternating chapters in an attempt to connect the two families and show a parallel between Sarah and Julia. From a readers perspective sometimes this connection was nothing more than a statement from future generations that the past should never be repeated and that we should never be blind to the holocaust and the atrocities that still exist in our world today. The very last page brings a small tear to your eyes even though you are expecting it.

This was a good fictional account of what may have happened during the round-up of Jews in occupied France. The voice of Sarah’s character was far more mature than that of a ten year old girl being interred with her family under horrific conditions and at times I felt as a reader that the author did not quite accomplish what she intended in the telling of Sarah’s story from the perspective of a ten year old. While Sarah’s Key is not as well written as the holocaust historical fiction or factual accounts of writers like Bernhard Schlink, Elie Wiesel, or Thomas Keneally I think the overall message is clear and worth repeating.
...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Tamara rated it:

08/29/08

bookshelves: first-reads, gen-fic

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in August, 2008

I wasn't sure how I would feel about the storytelling shifting chapter to chapter from the little French girl, Sarah, in 1942 France and the adult woman, Julia, in 2002 France. It worked just fine.

The storytelling was so evocative, and even when I knew what was going to happen, I was drawn in with the characters and experienced the moment as they did. I don't know the last time a book made me cry, but I'll have to start that count again.

I did enjoy Julia's chapters more than Sarah's chap...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Jen rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

08/30/08

bookshelves: female-author, general-fiction, historical-fiction

Read in August, 2008

Sarah's Key starts out by oscillating chapters between Julia Jarmond in France 2002 and a nameless young girl in France 1942. Julia is an American who has been living in France for the past 25 years. She works for an English-language publication and has been assigned to write an article about the anniversary of the great roundup at the Velodrome d'Hiver (Vel' d'Hiv'). The nameless young girl is the daughter of Jews living in France, and her family is arrested during Vel' d'Hiv'. The reader knows...more Sarah's Key starts out by oscillating chapters between Julia Jarmond in France 2002 and a nameless young girl in France 1942. Julia is an American who has been living in France for the past 25 years. She works for an English-language publication and has been assigned to write an article about the anniversary of the great roundup at the Velodrome d'Hiver (Vel' d'Hiv'). The nameless young girl is the daughter of Jews living in France, and her family is arrested during Vel' d'Hiv'. The reader knows the two stories must converge. And converge they do when it is revealed that the young girl is Sarah Starzynksi, and she escaped this horror. Today we might say she was "one of the lucky ones" because she escaped, but this novel illustrates how very unlucky she was to escape. No Jewish people were "lucky" during this horrible nightmare that blemishes our world's history.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Griffin through Goodreads FirstReads program. I believe it is set to be released in October of this year. Stories of the human experience during World War II always intrigue me. I think it is because I, to this day, cannot comprehend the horror of this time period. I feel the need to TRY to understand it better, try to understand how so many people could inflict pain and suffering of this magnitude on other people. I also need to experience all the people who did something - anything - to try to combat this heinous crime.

Sarah's Key, while fictional, helped me to experience a little more of this. Sarah's Key illustrates some of those people who tried to help, and the suffering they experienced as well. de Rosnay does an excellent job of illustrating the psychological effects of the Vel' d'Hiv' on a wide variety of people: Sarah and the other Jews rounded up, the French people surrounding the camp, the descendants of survivors, and people like me...people who have simply learned about it and did not experience it first hand.

de Rosnay alludes to the fact that the French police were not addressed in the novel; this element might have made the book a bit stronger, but it also might have detracted from what was already there. I don't know. And maybe it would have depended on how it was approached. But they were a group I found myself wondering about, while reading. Maybe that perspective would make for another interesting book by itself; who knows?

While there are elements of the plot that are predictable, there are other elements I didn't see coming at all. I found myself completely caught up in the life of these two women, and I desperately wanted to know what would happen with each. I, at times, became very irritated with Julia. Her husband was repulsive almost from page one and she seemed to harp on his "physical appeal." I found it hard to understand why such an independent, intelligent woman would tolerate his flagrant egocentricity. But, at the same time, I was taken with her dedication to finding out what happened to Sarah Starzynksi. Those two parts of her character didn't seem to blend for me.

I absolutely adored the character of Sarah. About midway through the novel de Rosnay stops oscillating the stories and the reader learns about Sarah through Julia's investigations, leaving Sarah's fate a mystery until the pieces are put together. Sarah's story is heart-wrenching. When she escapes from the camp with a young girl named Rachel, they take their stars off their shirts and dig a hole to leave them in. Rachel says, "'I'm burying the stars. They're dead. In their grave. Forever and ever.'" That single line resonates so much meaning for Sarah's character. It's one you really have to go back to after finishing the entire book to grasp the enormity of it.

An element that was especially startling for me was the fact that so many people wanted to still ignore the fact that Vel' d'Hiv' took place. Their attitude that it was better not to rehash the past was mortifying. I'm sure that it is easier and safer and more comfortable for some to cut themselves off and pretend this did not occur. But as this book illustrates, it's long past time for those people to be comfortable at the expense of the people who were so terribly scarred by this era. ...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Hara rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

06/28/08

Two horrible situations form the premise of this novel. The first is the factual story of the French roundup of the Jews during World War II, which took place in Paris under the auspices of the French Police. It was the French Police, not the Nazis, who dragged French Jews from their homes, separated parents from children, and sent them on to their deaths, all of which was witnessed by French citizens who did little to stop these horrific events. Because so few people are aware of this chapte...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Madame Charlotte rated it:

(review of isbn 2253122084)

04/21/08

bookshelves: _dedicace-auteur, _romans

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in April, 2008

Pfiou ! Que dire ?…Je viens de refermer le livre. Que d’émotions ! L’histoire est forte et tragique, tristement réelle, et le récit est d’une sobriété exemplaire, les faits sont juste abominables. L’histoire de Sarah prend à la gorge, voire aux tripes. Bref, ça remue. Pas de temps mort concernant les chapitres au sujet de Sarah. Car le récit se déroule en deux temps une bonne partie du livre. Il alterne les passages dans le présent (2002) où Julia prend peu à peu connaissan...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Candice rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

11/24/07

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: Ellen, Jamie, Hester

This was a fantastic story. I like stories that take place in two or more different time periods where you know things are going to be tied together somehow.

In July, 1942 the French police round up the country's Jews. In Paris, they take the men, women and children to the Vel' d'Hiv', a velodrome on the city's outskirts, before sending them to Eastern European concentration camps to die. One of the children who is arrested is 10-year-old Sarah. Before she and her parents leave their apar...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Angie rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

02/09/08

Read in February, 2008

I struggled whether to give this a two-star rating rather than a three. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't read it very thoroughly. I would find myself really blazing through some sentences so that I could discover where the plot was headed (what happened to the boy locked in the cupboard when the rest of his family was dragged off?). The book needed better characterization---I didn't really CARE about the main character (an American journalist who lives in Paris in the current day). The ide...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Ginny rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

09/11/08

A compelling page turner, at least for the first half of the book. And like all Holocaust literature, it’s heartbreaking. The story centers around the fate of a family who were victims of the Vel D’Hiv roundup in Paris. It’s fast-paced as it jumps back and forth between Sarah’s story in WWII France and the research of a 21st century journalist who finds herself connected to Sarah in some surprising ways. Unfortunately, when Sarah’s voice is lost from the story, it kind of fizzles a li...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

Carol rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

11/19/08

Predictable story, pedestrian & predictable writing: None of the plot surprises were surprising. I felt I wasted my time on this book (selected for a book club I belong to)

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Teresa rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

09/21/07

Read in April, 2008

I would classify this as a story about people and their emotions as opposed to a historical novel about events surrounding the Holocaust. Yes, there is the occasional bit of historical detail but I think the author focuses more on personal relationships. I would agree with a previous reviewer who found Sarah's story much stronger than that of Julia but the dual time frames - 1942 and 2002 were very well handled by the author and you didn't feel you were constantly skipping from one era to the o...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Liddy rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

10/12/07

bookshelves: 2007, historicalfiction

Read in October, 2007

This is not a particularly well-written book (the author has a penchant for unimportant details, like telling you what the narrator's mother's maiden name was), but it kept my attention because I wanted to know more about the historical moment it describes: the round-up and deportation of thousands of Parisian Jews under the authority of French police during the Holocaust. I found that story much more compelling than the contemporary one deRosnay intertwines with it, about an American journalist...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Dev rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

07/19/08

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Dev by: Public Library
recommends it for: Everyone

I finished Sarah's Key just moments ago -I had to log on and write my review about this fabulous book! This book grabs you from the first page and keeps you on your toes until the last page. I was engrossed in the story of Sarah, a little Jewish girl growing up in Paris during the summer of 1942; and Julia an American living in present day Paris. I loved reading about Sarah's story and at the same time was horrified of how Jewish people were treated under the Nazi regime. I finally cried when I...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Janice rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

11/17/08

Everyone needs to read this. A few times in your life you will read a book that you will never forget. This is one of them. This book will make you cry, be prepared.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Lauren rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

11/29/08

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: all...but women will probably like it most.

Since having a bit of an obsession with the Holocaust in my teens/early twenties, I haven't read much about the Holocaust. This book and the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas happened to come out around the same time and has renewed my interest in this sad time in history. Sarah's Key was about the round-up of the Jews in Paris, an event that I had not come across in prior reading about the Holocaust. I am shocked by how quiet France kept their involvement in the extermination of the Jews. Mu...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Barbara rated it:

(review of isbn 0312370830)

11/22/08

bookshelves: absolutefavs

Read in November, 2008

I picked up this book at Costco for $9.49 and it is now one of my favorite books that I've read.

The story flips between two characters. Both are in France. One character is 1942 during World World II. The second character in 2002.

Julia Jarmond is a reporter who has been asked to do a story on a dark event in French history. The round up of Veldrome d'Hiver. This is when thousands of Jewish families where locked up for days and most went to Auschwitz and gassed.

The young Jewish gi...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

title link
avg rating
small image
med image
large image

Sarah's Key

book data

new topic
discuss this book

friend reviews

lists with this book

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 937)

blog this book

combine
other editions (18)

Sarah's Key

book data

new topic discuss this book

friend reviews

lists with this book

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 937)

blog this book

combine other editions (18)

new topic
discuss this book

combine
other editions (18)