Sarah's Key

     Wow. This book is completely astonishing. I absolutely could not put it down; honestly I don't know how anyone does! I will start by saying that this book will break your heart, or at least it did mine. Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay is a story about lives affected by the Holocaust, specifically the Vel d'Hiv' roundup on July 16, 1942. During this roundup, the largest of any on French soil, oven thirteen thousand men, women, and children were taken from their homes and most adults were sent directly to concentration camps whereas families were kept in the Velodrome d' Hiver stadium for 6 days before being split from their children and sent to different camps.

     This novel traces two completely different lives, 60 years apart. Sarah is ten years old, Jewish, and living with her family in Paris in 1942. Julia is 45 years old, American, and living in Paris with her French husband and daughter. The story begins at Sarah's home on the night of July 16th, when the French police came to pick up her family. Sarah's father was already in hiding in a local shop because at this time it was believed that the police were only rounding up men, which left Sarah, her mother, and brother at home. When the police knocked on their apartment door, Sarah was not afraid. She believed that because the French police were at the door, not German, her family would be safe. When the police asked them to gather their things to leave, Sarah's four year old brother was afraid and refused to go, saying he would hide in their secret place. He climbed into a secret cupboard and Sarah locked him in from the outside, placed the key in her pocket, and promised to let him out soon, when it was safe. From the apartment the family was taken to the Veledrome stadium and only after they had been kept there for several days under horrendous conditions did Sarah realize that she would not be returning home. After six days they were transferred to an intermediary camp, away from Paris, so that the children could be separated from their parents. From that point on, Sarah learned at a very young age the cost of survival and that some wounds never recover.

     Julia is a writer for a magazine, directed towards Americans living in France, and is assigned a story on the 60th anniversary of the Vel d'Hiv' roundup. Julia has never heard of this roundup and had no idea that France played such a significant role in the Jewish exterminations. As Julia continues to research that horrific summer she discovers a secret held within her husband's family that links them to Sarah. Once the secret is uncovered, Julia will stop at nothing to find out what happened to Sarah and her family, whatever the consequences.

     The most significant moment of the book for me was when a Frenchman that Julia is interviewing asks her why she is so interested in finding out these details, to which she responds that she would like to apologize to the family. The man is surprised and wonders what on earth an American would have to feel sorry about regarding the Vel d'Hiv' roundup in France. She replies, "Sorry for not knowing. Sorry for being forty-five years old and not knowing." I was touched by this admission because I am ashamed to admit that I had also not heard of this terrible event. I was unaware of how large a part France played in the Holocaust.

     This book is devastating in the best kind of way because it makes you realize that the things you think are problems really aren't. At least that's how it was for me. I think this is a hard but important book to read because it helps to understand the magnitude of this tragedy, to honor the lives that were lost, and to remember what is really important in life.