I just finished reading "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. But before I tell you about the book itself, a bit of background:
I picked this book up in either the Chicago or Frankfurt airport on my way back to Bangalore about a year and a half ago. I normally don't buy anything from the airport bookstores, as I usually have at least two books already in my rucksack, but I like to browse through them to pass the time and to jot down the names of potential future reads. But there was something about this book that made me pick it up. I was originally drawn by the cover - it's very simple, but there's something a bit sad about it that made me want to pick it up. I read the synopsis on the back - very brief, not giving too much away - and was intrigued. It mentioned slightly parallel stories, which I tend to be a sucker for, so I figured what the hey, and I purchased it.
As books usually do, this one sat on my desk and now a shelf for a good year and a half. I would pick it up occasionally when deciding which book to read next, but there was always something a bit shinier that would catch my attention. So back to the shelf it would go, to gather a bit of dust and wait for me to come around to it again.
And then my friend Brad mentioned on his blog that he had read - and enjoyed - this book. So I decided to put it at the top of my 'To Read Next' pile and rushed through the end of "A Girl Named Zippy" to get to this one.
In a few words, I was entranced. I can't remember the last time a book made me cry ("Tuesdays with Morrie" comes to mind), and this one had me sitting on a BMTC bus Tuesday morning ready to bawl my eyes out in front of a bunch of impatient Bangaloreans. I'll have to agree with Brad that the ending was a bit predictable and tied up with too pretty a bow, considering how sad and heart-wrenching the first half of the book is, but overall it was fantastic. I loved how the story interwove between Sarah, a 10-year-old Jewish girl whose family is rounded up by the French police in 1942 and sent to camps, and Julia, an American journalist living in Paris researching the roundup.
I also learned a lot about the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup in July 1942 and the role that the French police played in rounding up and deporting Paris' Jewish population. As someone who has taken numerous courses on World War II and the Holocaust, this was something new for me, and I always love being able to learn something new from a book without feeling as though I'm reading a textbook.
Overall it was beautifully written, and the stories were interwoven wonderfully. But it's heartbreaking, so make sure you have some Kleenex ready if you decide to read it. So yeah, this one definitely goes on the list of recommendations. Especially for you, Ellie and Anna. You'll love it.
next up: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston. I somehow missed reading it in school, so I am excited about getting to it now. But I think after this one I'm definitely going to need something a bit lighter before tackling "Midnight's Children" and "The Brothers Karamazov". Any suggestions?
xx
I picked this book up in either the Chicago or Frankfurt airport on my way back to Bangalore about a year and a half ago. I normally don't buy anything from the airport bookstores, as I usually have at least two books already in my rucksack, but I like to browse through them to pass the time and to jot down the names of potential future reads. But there was something about this book that made me pick it up. I was originally drawn by the cover - it's very simple, but there's something a bit sad about it that made me want to pick it up. I read the synopsis on the back - very brief, not giving too much away - and was intrigued. It mentioned slightly parallel stories, which I tend to be a sucker for, so I figured what the hey, and I purchased it.
As books usually do, this one sat on my desk and now a shelf for a good year and a half. I would pick it up occasionally when deciding which book to read next, but there was always something a bit shinier that would catch my attention. So back to the shelf it would go, to gather a bit of dust and wait for me to come around to it again.
And then my friend Brad mentioned on his blog that he had read - and enjoyed - this book. So I decided to put it at the top of my 'To Read Next' pile and rushed through the end of "A Girl Named Zippy" to get to this one.
In a few words, I was entranced. I can't remember the last time a book made me cry ("Tuesdays with Morrie" comes to mind), and this one had me sitting on a BMTC bus Tuesday morning ready to bawl my eyes out in front of a bunch of impatient Bangaloreans. I'll have to agree with Brad that the ending was a bit predictable and tied up with too pretty a bow, considering how sad and heart-wrenching the first half of the book is, but overall it was fantastic. I loved how the story interwove between Sarah, a 10-year-old Jewish girl whose family is rounded up by the French police in 1942 and sent to camps, and Julia, an American journalist living in Paris researching the roundup.
I also learned a lot about the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup in July 1942 and the role that the French police played in rounding up and deporting Paris' Jewish population. As someone who has taken numerous courses on World War II and the Holocaust, this was something new for me, and I always love being able to learn something new from a book without feeling as though I'm reading a textbook.
Overall it was beautifully written, and the stories were interwoven wonderfully. But it's heartbreaking, so make sure you have some Kleenex ready if you decide to read it. So yeah, this one definitely goes on the list of recommendations. Especially for you, Ellie and Anna. You'll love it.
next up: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston. I somehow missed reading it in school, so I am excited about getting to it now. But I think after this one I'm definitely going to need something a bit lighter before tackling "Midnight's Children" and "The Brothers Karamazov". Any suggestions?
xx
Oooh - Sarah's Key has been on my reading list for awhile! I need to get to it.
ReplyDeleteAlso - talk about needing some kleenex - keep it out for Their Eyes Were Watching God. Holy crap. Seriously.
And finally - I ADORED Midnight's Children. It's one of my favorite books. And while it's definitely pretty heavy overall, the book spans so many years that there are plenty of parts that are light & fun.