Sarah's Key

A Novel

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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

Pent up emotions...buried beneath

The voice fluctuations used by the reader were very distinct. It helped to hear the different characters speak with their own voice. The details of each character rang consistent through the book.
Having visited Paris helped me to revisit in my minds eye seeing the city from a different perspective.great book, will look for more of this authors books.

Well constructed, moving story

I enjoyed this book - I felt for the characters and the climax was very moving. Narration was also very good. The only thing that wasn't ideal was that there are no breaks between sections - the two parallel storylines need separation when one section ends and another begins. I had to buy the kindle book so I could identify what was going on. It really detracted from the experience and seems like it should be an easy fix. Still the story was well worth listening to.

Good story

I enjoyed reading this book. It was not as hard to read as other WWII stories. The story kept me wanting more, and I liked the ending.

Never forget

This novel was a very well written story of France's participation in WWII Nazi horrors. I was not aware of this part of history. The narration is very ggod. We must never forget the Holocaust, and its book is gentle way of helping us grasp it.

Dark and Heartbreaking

The performance was well done. But it was just such a dark and sad story. I was waiting for something good to happen. There were brief moments of hope, but not enough. I do admit that it was a dark time in history and I did learn something new about France's involvement in WWII.