Sarah's Key will haunt me for the rest of my days and I add it to a couple of other memorable reads about The Holocaust that I've pored over my life time.
The first book, back in 1984, about the Holocaust was by Nobel Peace Prize writer Elie Wiesel called, Night, and it changed me — forever. It taught me so much about humanity. The words and story were seared to my heart and caused it to ache. It left me sad and, resolute that I never wanted something like this to happen in world again. A few years later I felt ready to read The Forgotten, also by Elie Wiesel and this time I not only learnt more about the Holocaust, but a little about Alzheimer's. I would forever be compassionate to this degenerative condition and something I had to face later on in life with my own mother.
A couple of other memorable reads about the topic include: The Diary of Anne Frank and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (visiting author attending 2012 Brisbane Writers Festival) and Irene Nemirovsky's, Suite Francais.
Sarah's Key meets all expectations of a novel foundational upon the Holocaust. The difference to this novel from the others is that whilst it is a work of fiction, it looks more specifically at the great Velodrome d'Hiver roundup, which took place on July 16, 1942 in the heart of Paris.
The author, Tatiana de Rosnay states: 'It is not a historical work and has no intention of being one. It is my tribute to the children of the Vel' d'Hiv'. The children who never came back. And the ones who survived to tell."
Sarah's Key begins with tight tension as the great Vel' d'Hiv' roundup begins and suddenly impacts the life of ten year old Sarah and her family. The reader is suddenly plunged into Sarah's nightmare and it's a nightmare that no one can wake up from. The reader's heart races along with Sarah's as the panic builds and desperation sets in. Is there no end?
During the first section of the book, de Rosnay flicks backwards and forwards from 1916 to 2002, seamlessly. Sometimes this technique can get a little annoying, however, not in this case. Each chapter is over within a couple of pages and this actually helps build tension and anxiety and, forces the reader to turn the page. The pace is quick, yet devastating. The author writes simplistically and the text flows effortlessly, urging the reader on.
Sarah has a dilemma that no ten year old child should ever have to face and the devastating consequences - no child should ever have to endure. But yet, how many children are born into circumstances that require them to endure heartache, heart break and mountains to climb?
What happens in Sarah's life becomes a fabric of the past and is interwoven into the future of others, including Julia, an American journalist living in Paris with her French husband, Bertrand and daughter, Zoe. But the life of this young girl leaves a much larger impact on many others and really brings to light how one person's life can influence many.
Guaranteed to stir the heart, mind and generate tears, this is quite simply, a beautiful strong and determined story of adversity faced by a people, how they survived, if they survived and the repercussions of history.
A highly recommended read.
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