Sarah's Key

Recently, what with all the snow and ice and limited travel opportunities, I've taken to brushing up my reading skills.

My first foray back into the world of reading was Sarah's Key.

Sarah's Key

by Tatiana de Rosnay

I've been wanting to read Sarah's Key for just about forever. I couldn't for a while because I didn't have it, but thanks to my amazing cousins (and Christmas) after December 27th, my only excuse was a lack of time and motivation. But then the epic snowstorms of the south hit and what with 4 snowstorms in two weeks, my car pretty much remained parked in my driveway and my bottom rotated between the kitchen, couch, and (fortunately for my figure) the treadmill.

All excuses gone, I finally picked up Sarah's Key... and read it in about 12 hours. It was amazing!

When I first saw Sarah's Key in the bookstore back in August, I was pretty intrigued by the premise. How could the story of an American in Paris in 2002 possibly intertwine with that of a Jewish Parisian caught up in the horrible events of 1942? And then there was the genre... I've been a historical fiction junkie since I was a little girl (thanks in part to my obsession with American Girls and Little House on the Prairie). Books themed around the holocaust are no exception, although since watching "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" I've been somewhat less enthusiastic about that era in history... it still gives me bad dreams if I think about it before I go to bed.

Sarah's Key is a whirlwind of events from the present and the past. It follows a young girl who is betrayed by her country and sent to an earthly version of hell, first in the form of a stadium and then in the form of a camp. At the same time, it also follows one woman as she struggles to discover the story of this girl from the past, a girl that is inexplicably linked to her through the actions of her in-laws.

In Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay manages to create a story that is gripping, terrifying, exciting, and poignant, but most importantly she creates a story that is unforgettable.

Can't get enough?

Check out these other books also themed around the holocaust...

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy - a book that weaves a traditional fairy tale with the story of two Jewish children who are trying to survive in German occupied Poland. One of the most haunting and amazing books I've ever read.

Joop by Richard Lourie - a story about the betrayal of Anne Frank (originally published in Hardcover under the title A Hatred for Tulips). This book lets you see the other side of the story, from the perspective of the betrayers of the Holocaust.