Sarah's Key

Rosnay, Tatiana de. (2007). Sarah’s Key. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.  

ISBN: 9780312370831

Pages: 294

Genre: historical fiction

Annotation: World War II events change a present day journalist’s life.

Summary: Julia Jarmond is a French journalist given an unexpected assignment: research the deportation of French Jews during World War Two. She finds that many people do not want to remember this part of French history. Why her husband’s family is among them haunts her. Determined to find closure, she embarks on a journey which will put her at odds with her husband and change the course of her life.

Evaluation: very good read

The two main characters, Julia and Sarah, are very well done and capture the reader’s attention. De Rosnay is very good at bringing the reader into their point of view. One part that bugged me, however, was Julia’s determination to find Sarah, or a relative, and speak with them.  This bothered me because I think Julia should have thought about the impact this would have on who she spoke with. The storyline is excellently done. Sarah’s story shows the different stages of a hellish journey that grabs the reader’s emotions and horrifies the mind. The reader is with Sarah going through the inhumane conditions and heart wrenching loss. It is not possible to totally understand something like this unless one experiences it, but the writing style makes it a close second. The reader sees the different types of reactions: denial, collaboration and justification.  Julia’s storyline causes the reader to wonder what they would do in her shoes. This book is a very good read for those wanting to learn more about Jews during World War II, French history or family secrets impacting the present, or brave heroines faced with difficult situations. 

What else to read:

Other books by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Murder in the Marais by Cara Black for another book in which events from World War II in Paris tie into the present.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum for World War II secrets changing the lives of the next generation.

The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff for a Jewish heroine during World War II.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank for learning more about the lives of Jews during World War II.