Sample

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Sarah's Key

By: Tatiana de Rosnay
Narrated by: Polly Stone
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay is the heart-breaking tale of 10-year-old Sarah Stravinsky, a French Jew, and her journey during the Holocaust in 1942. Paralleling her story is the account of American journalist Julia Jarmond, in the year 2002, who is living in France and assigned to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv', the French round-ups in which little Sarah and her family were arrested and sent to concentration camps. The two women have a tie that binds, as Julia discovers her French in-laws have owned the apartment that Sarah once lived in since her family was removed from it. As Julia desperately searches for Sarah, hoping she was one of the lucky few who escaped death at Auschwitz, she uncovers the unspeakable horror that Sarah endured in the very same apartment - a secret that has haunted her in-laws for 60 years.

If the superb simplicity of this saga isn't enough to draw you in, Polly Stone's flawless narration will. She gives each character a distinct voice (complete with accurate accent and pitch), which lends authenticity, as if the characters themselves have come alive within her. This novel, like most accounts of the Holocaust, is weighty, ridden with horrific details. Stone's tone is subtle, letting these details ring out and strike your heart. She's also a master at building suspense, and you'll find yourself so endeared by little Sarah, that you will be white-knuckled for her during her frightening journey.

The last portion of the novel is a bit drawn out, but this is forgivable, as the denouement is touching, and Sarah's struggle is one that will stick with you long after you've finished listening to it. (Colleen Oakley)

Publisher's summary

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

©2007 Tatiana de Rosnay (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Polly Stone's delivery of Sarah's story is riveting with its spare emotional power.” —AudioFile Magazine

“This is a remarkable historical novel, a book which brings to light a disturbing and deliberately hidden aspect of French behavior towards Jews during World War II. Like Sophie's Choice, it's a book that impresses itself upon one's heart and soul forever.” —Naomi Ragen, author of The Saturday Wife and The Covenant

Sarah's Key unlocks the star crossed, heart thumping story of an American journalist in Paris and the 60-year-old secret that could destroy her marriage. This book will stay on your mind long after it's back on the shelf.” —Risa Miller, author of Welcome to Heavenly Heights

What listeners say about Sarah's Key

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,102
  • 4 Stars
    1,151
  • 3 Stars
    475
  • 2 Stars
    132
  • 1 Stars
    59
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,743
  • 4 Stars
    721
  • 3 Stars
    266
  • 2 Stars
    63
  • 1 Stars
    40
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,689
  • 4 Stars
    725
  • 3 Stars
    302
  • 2 Stars
    94
  • 1 Stars
    40

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Worthy

There are compelling moments in this book, and vivid writing... It's worthy of a read, but probably won't make your all-time favorites list.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Sarah's Key

I am very glad I chose this book and I highly recommend it, It is fiction based on fact and is
profoundly moving. The reader is excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow!

Fascinating novel told from 2 different points of view: Sarah, a Parisian Jewish girl in 1942, & Julia, an American journalist living in Paris in modern times. The author captures so many emotions, & I'm learning so much. The reader is very talented & easy to listen to, infusing the characters with so much - well, character. I listen to books while walking, & can hardly wait to get back to this book - so it makes me walk more!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

To be remembered for a lifetime

Deeply touched, incredible story, riveting writing style, and washed with emotions, so harsh, so gentle, and so human, to last a lifetime.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a lovey haunting book

This is one to listen to carefully. The change in time, especially at the beginning, put me on alert. The story is one I didn't know, so I felt the chill along with Julia as she discovered the horrors that happened in France. Truly, an inspiring and haunting book. Oh, the sad deplorable things humans can do to other humans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my all time favorites!

Really touched my heart. What a good reminder of all the pain in our world. Let's not forget the past.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Must Read

Would you listen to Sarah's Key again? Why?

Yes, it is a book that really impacts you.

What did you like best about this story?

It is a fictional story, but based on an event that happened in history. I learned some things that I had not known because I researched the event from the book.

Which character – as performed by Polly Stone – was your favorite?

The Journalist

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many parts

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good

Just to see other reviews. Book very good and would listen again bc the plot is crazy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Yes it was painful, yes it was difficult to listen to but what can one expect from a WWII novel? This book was enthralling.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing story!

Would you listen to Sarah's Key again? Why?

Definitely!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julia. She reamined true to herself.

What about Polly Stone’s performance did you like?

The way she is able to give life to so many characters at once.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!