From the Bookshelf of Challenge: 50 Books…

Sarah's Key

Tatiana de Rosnay

Why we're reading this: My Book Club chose this book. It is about a young Jewish girl in France and how her family was caught up …more
[close] My Book Club chose this book. It is about a young Jewish girl in France and how her family was caught up in the Holocaust and also an American woman in modern day, living in France researching France's role in the Holocaust.

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Mar 14, 2016 mrsboomreads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: five-star-reads

Haunting, riveting, gut-wrenching. I had not known of the Vel' d'Hiv' prior to reading this novel and now it will be impossible to forget. The stories of past and present are beautifully, heartbreakingly entwined in this book. ...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Tara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

This is a really great book. It's so different from the types of books I've been reading. I found the writing style to be inventive and refreshing. The subject matter is hard and deep, but presented in a respectful and thoughtful way.

The story centers on the rounding up, imprisonment and execution of French Jews in 1942. If you're thinking, "What imprisonment of French Jews?" you're not alone. It seems that this "incident" was swept under the rug until President Jacques Chirac apologized for it ...more

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Aug 13, 2011 KJ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, 50-books-a-year-2013

Oh dear god. I don't even know how much time I want to spend on this review. First, I really enjoyed the historical part of the book, Sarah's part of the story. It's always good to learn more about the Jewish experiences during WWII as I believe that telling their stories is one of the truely authentic ways of honoring the victims. With that being said, I was so damned irritated at the rest of the book. I literally just finished the book this afternoon and already I have spaced the main characte Oh dear god. I don't even know how much time I want to spend on this review. First, I really enjoyed the historical part of the book, Sarah's part of the story. It's always good to learn more about the Jewish experiences during WWII as I believe that telling their stories is one of the truely authentic ways of honoring the victims. With that being said, I was so damned irritated at the rest of the book. I literally just finished the book this afternoon and already I have spaced the main characters name. I'll just refer to her as Ass Hat Alice. She whined and whined about her French husband arguing with her but she would start it half the time. In the one part he was rubbing her feet and being very kind and she just laid into him about something and he fought back. Then she played the victim and whined about it.

The writing style drove me nuts. It would be a line or two of the story followed by lines and lines of questioning. Something like, "After the arguement Ass Hat Alice and Bob walked to the liquor store. Bob bought a cabernet sauvignon. Was Bob still angry because Ass Hat Alice lit into him about rubbing her feet? Was Bob still attracted to her? Why did Bob buy a cab? Cabs are so dry and would Alice's mouth feel like sand paper after just one glass or would it take two? Did Bob pay too much for the cab? Did Bob think she was cheap because she preferred pinot grigio? Ass Hat Alice was just never sure."

The main character was so shallow. The first half of the book that wasn't about Sarah was the main character going on and on (with questions constantly thrown in of course) about how good looking her French husband was. And normally this isn't a make or break for me but the reader, who, bless her heart, I am sure is a nice person, had the most irritating voice! The cadence of her voice was like that of an elementary school teacher who was unable to leave her work at school. The rhythm of her speech is one I hope to never hear again.

Overall the idea of the book is good but the story itself was clumsy and frustrating to follow. ...more

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Oct 19, 2009 Bern rated it really liked it

I feel ignorant in not knowing this part of history. I read this in a day because I was so engrossed in Sarah's story. Julia's....not so much. I agree with the other reviewers that Julia's whininess was a turn-off and I really did not care about the charector at all. Thankfully Sarah's story and the atrocities drew me in and made me end up enjoying this book thoroughly. ...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Kay rated it it was amazing

Wonderful read. I knew nothing about this part of French history and the Holocaust. I loved the switch from past to present in the first half of the book.

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