Monday, August 15, 2011

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This was a very moving Historical Novel. It is based in Paris during World War II in 1942. The French police were involved in roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the VĂ©lodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. In Auschwitz they were killed in the gas chambers, yes even the children. It almost seems unreal, or another world but sadly it is true.
The story is about a young lady that moves to Paris from the US and marries a Parisian. She is a journalist, has an 11 year old daughter and a husband that treats her like dirt. She is asked to write about the an event to remember the Jewish families that died in the French round up. She had never heard of it. At the same time in the book another story is being told, one of a little girl that survived the round-ups but lost her family. It is really about her story and the terrors she faced. This story made me cry more then once. Communism was knocking at everyone's door and no one really knew how evil it was until it was too late. It is hard to believe the unbelievable and it is harder to imagine living through such hell. It really puts my personal life back in perspective anytime I read about the Jews in concentration camps. In the story the journalist is going through hard things too but they are also put into perspective for her as she learns more about what transpired in the lives of people that actually become real to her the more she uncovers about them. It directly affects her family and her choices.
This was an amazing story despite its horrors, I hope I never forget the people like you and I that had their lives ripped apart in one night! That one night changed history forever, let us never forget!

Healing Book

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i loved this book. i'm so glad you read it. another (non-holocost) book that you might like is Still Alice about a woman who is experiencing early onset alzheimers.