Sarah's Key By Tatiana de Rosnay (WWII Historical and modern day fiction)

Reviewed by Paisley on October 6th, 2008, 1:52pm

by tatiana de Rosnay

Format: Print Books

Series: Other

In Paris 1942, a ten year old Jewsh girl is taken with her parents
as the French police arrest Jewish familes.  In an effort to save her
brother Michel, she locks him in their secret hiding place to keep him
safe from harm, planning to release him on her return.  in 2002, 60
years after the anniversary of the Velodrome d'Hiver incident, Julia
Jarmond investigates this roundup of Jewish children by the French
government.  A slip from a family member and her investigation reveal
decaddes of secrets within her family that link her family to Sarah and
a search that will have lasting ramifications within her life.

This
book is told in alternating time periods by chapter so that the reader
hears Sarah's 10 year old voice and Julia's voice.  The first half of
the book was awesome as the reader catches a glimpse of these two
voices.  Julia's investigation of the Velodrome D'Hiver children (later
transported to Auschwitz through various French concentration camps)
has some eerie looks into those gnerations living near the site for
whom history has no meaning.  Sarah's voice is truly haunting and makes
it come alive.

But...then the narrative switches to Julia's
narrative exclusively at a certain point within the book.   This is
where the book becomes problematic for me.  This book is meant to be a
tribute to the children but Julia's character co-opts Sarah's story.
She becomes so obsessed and not in a believable way to me that the book
is more about Julia's guilt for standing by (and she is not a direct party to the event like other characters so it really feels like a co-opt).  The details just do not
make this book what it could be...she is not French and it is her
in-laws so it is more like she is the grand savior coming in and
deciding rather than the focus being on the redemptive aspects.  Her
character grated on my nerves more and more at the end.

To make
matters worse, a possible abortion enters the picture.  I suppose this
is supposed to give her some tie to children and thus to the childen of
history and to Sarah's children but it rings flat.  Instead the way it
is written feels out of place to me,perhaps a political agenda tacked
into the story(?) but the whole thing rings false to me.  Her basic
personality towards the book's end is to push everyone by her
obsession, to never listen to those involved from the past or in her own personal life but to be the agent for
others whether they want it or not.from her husband to Sarah's child,
she just brushes their desires aside and does what she wants.  

This
book might play out differently for a French audience as a book that
does detail French participation in the Nazi schemes.  The beginning
part of the book is a chilling look into how people turned their eyes
as well as some precise eautifully written moments of those who stood
up.  Then again, the parts that grate on my nerves might even be more
sanctimonious to a French audience.  Important topic but the execution
of it at the end seems to fall flat or actually be at cross purposes to
the aim of the book.

A difficult book in terms of number rating for me.  The first half  was awesome, the very end annoying.

I don't know why the spacing on this blog is so odd since I typed it directly instead of cutting and pasting it.

Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net