As I started reading Sarah's Key I was filled with a haunting feeling. Did I read this book before? I wondered if I had read the book earlier and simply forgot - but how could someone forget a book about the Holocaust. I suddenly realized the feeling came from a sense of foreboding and fear that I really did not want to face. Perhaps I have read too many books about the Holocaust. Sometimes I cannot manage the sadness in my mind and that is probably why I had a terrible feeling as I started yet another novel about the Holocaust. Why do I read books about a time that is so disturbing to me? Perhaps it is because I cannot forget an age old saying by George Santayana, who, in Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1, wrote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."Whatever the reason I trudged onward and read Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay. I must tell you from the earliest pages I knew what was going to happen to Sarah's family. What I did not know was how the story of Sarah's family, set in 1942 in France would be intertwined with the story of the contemporary woman, Julia Jarmond. Julia is living in France in 2002. She is an American, married to a Frenchmen, living in Paris. Julia works for a magazine and is asked to investigate the story of families who were involved in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup in July 1942.
As Julia investigates the terrible time in Paris history she begins to unravel amazing connections to her own life. DeRosnay intertwines the characters of the story beautifully - and those words are an understatement. I loved the descriptive words, the emotion, and the view of the Holocaust through the eyes of a contemporary woman. I read in a review that Sarah's Key will haunt you. I do not necessarily find those words true, but Sarah's Key will certainly make you think of the connections to history and how we may use those connections to mold our lives. I believe Sarah's Key is a woman's book. I loved Julia in the story, despite her faults. Mostly, I loved her passion and persistence to unlock the truth. Read Sarah's Key for a look at a part of the Holocaust that most of us have never heard about. This is a beautiful story and worth taking the time to pursue.
