Sarah's Key: A Novel

I really enjoy WWII and Holocaust novels. In the past, I've mainly read survivor memoirs. They are gut-wrenching and haunting stories. But "Sarah's Key," though fiction and based on a true event, is different from any other Holocaust novel I've read. I had never heard of the Vel d'Hiv that took place in Paris. I quickly became absorbed into the story. It's well written and I like the technique Tatiana de Rosnay uses from going between the past and the present. It's keeps the storyline moving at a constant pace, while also keeping things interesting. It's not monotonous plot, to say the least. A little girl's struggle and heart-wrenching tale coupled with a curious French reporter decades later, along with a few twists and turns that will keep you reading till the end, is a way to convey a different side of the Holocaust.

I have never had a book that had such a profound effect on me as this one did. I cried, I was so deeply moved by the pain that the children in this story endured. I could not sleep some nights just thinking about this horrendous part of history, but this book paid a good homage to the memories of people like Sarah and her family that suffered at the hands of this travesty. Although this is a fictional novel, it COULD very well be someones story. The history is not far off, I have researched the Vel d'Hiv roundup and the aftermath and it probably happened just like the book says. It was so hard to read some of the things that were happening to all those poor helpless children, but it is a part of history that no one should ever forget.

I am pretty ambivalent about this book. From reading its description and reviews, I had some very high hopes. Unfortunately, the execution of its premise fell flat. It was quite predictable. Not to mention, drawn out in all the places where it should have been succinct, and succinct where the ideas should have been expanded upon. The entire first half especially had this problem - the chapters set in 1942 were so much more vivid than their 21st century counterparts, and when they abruptly ended, it was disappointing. And Julia's character... was somehow not fully fleshed out. I will say that the ending and the hints of what happens after the pages finished was the most satisfying part of the whole novel. Really, what ruined it for me was the slow tearing of the Band-aid in learning Michel's fate... it was inevitable, predictable and utterly too drawn out to be actually moving.