Sarah's Key in 100+ Books in 2025

Apr 30, 2011 Dolly rated it really liked it

Shelves: england-english, germany-german, france-french, historical-fiction, education-school, poland, jewish-israel, military, other-usa, 2011

I'm not sure if the words I put here will fully explain how I feel about this book. If I had to pick one word, I suppose it would be stunning.

I never knew much about the deportation and extermination of Jews from France. Until I read The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust (a children's picture book) with our girls last year, I'd never heard about it at all. I knew that France was occupied by the Germans, so I guess I should not have been surprised, b I'm not sure if the words I put here will fully explain how I feel about this book. If I had to pick one word, I suppose it would be stunning.

I never knew much about the deportation and extermination of Jews from France. Until I read The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust (a children's picture book) with our girls last year, I'd never heard about it at all. I knew that France was occupied by the Germans, so I guess I should not have been surprised, but it was a part of history that I was ignorant of for most of my life. I could really empathize with Julia when she says, "Sorry for not knowing. Sorry for being forty-five years old and not knowing."

The fact that French people were the ones who rounded up the men, women and children, their own countrymen, was completely devastating. The treatment of people during the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup was truly inhumane. In the words of Jacques Chirac in 1995, "...Breaking its word, it [France] delivered those it protected to their executioners." (p. 302)

This story is so heartbreaking and poignant, it really brings to life the people who suffered so much. And the way that the tale of Sarah and her family is tied to the present time is very well done. The woven fabric of one life into another's life depicts the interconnectedness of all humankind. And the touching displays of kindness and compassion in the midst of cruelty and despair is inspirational. This book is a quick read and I was sucked into the story immediately. I was so enthralled, I couldn't put it down and finished it within the span of a day.

I am not ashamed to say that I bawled like a baby throughout this tale (mostly alone at my kitchen table before anyone else was awake.) The ending was somewhat predictable, but I could not have imagined it ending any other way. The unbearable anguish that Sarah must have felt after finally returning to Paris was unforgettable.

I have read several books about the Holocaust and it surprises me every time how cruel and evil people can be. It's almost unimaginable that this could ever happen. But it did.

I learned some new words today, like Shoah, the Hebrew word for Holocaust. But I also learned a few more.

Zakhor, Al Tichkah. (Remember, Never Forget.)
I will. ...more

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Sep 15, 2010 Carmen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

A personal story about a very trying time. During World War II a young Jewish boy is left behind in his family's closet. His sister has locked him up to keep him safe, unaware that her family is going to be deported. Somehow she escapes the round up place and goes back to find her brother. He is dead. But the family who now live in his old apartment are devestated by the news. Years later a spouse of one of the new residents' descedents is a jouralist and finds everything out. She tracks down th ...more

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May 17, 2011 Carl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Heartwarming fiction based on true facts.My favorite historical fiction is about the Jewish experience during WW2 and the Holocaust. It is also the most heart breaking fiction that I have encountered.
What happened to Sarah and her family will live in my heart forever

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