16. Read a New Book

I decided that the perfect time to read a new book was during an 18 hour road trip. I decided to go to Chapters soon before I left to buy a book. It wasn’t long before I picked up the book, “Sarah’s Key” and as I read the back, I knew that it was one I would be interested in reading. I continued to browse but eventually left the store having purchased “Sarah’s Key” which is written by Tatiana De Rosnay.

“Sarah’s Key” is a historical fiction which I enjoy reading. The novel takes place in two time periods, 1942 and 2002, and goes back and forth between each. The writer first takes its readers to the spring of 1942 in Paris, France during the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup where Parisian Jewish families (mostly women and children) where arrested by French police in German occupied France. Although, not mentioned right away but implied early on is that Sarah is the ten year-old girl who has been taken with her family. I was really drawn to this character throughout the novel; a sweet, innocent girl trying to make sense of what was happening. I wanted her to escape, I wanted her to find her brother safe, I wanted her to live a happy life and I wanted Julia to find her.

Julia is the main character presented in the present time (2002) and is referred to in the first person. Julia is an American journalist who is living in France with her husband and daughter. Julia is assigned to work on an assignment to write an article on the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup and discovers a connection her husband’s family has with Sarah. Julia develops quite a strong attachment to Sarah and begins a personal quest to uncover the story of Sarah and her family.

Like most novels, there are parts that are predictable but there are also a few surprises included. I like how the author connected the past with the present. However, there were two things in the novel that I was uncomfortable with: one was swearing, not a lot but swearing is something I really detest especially when it is used casually. The other was a seemingly pro-choice stance on abortion.

While looking in my day timer at this week’s events I noticed that Sunday is Holocaust Remembrance Day. I think it is important to remember that this happened, that it was a traumatizing event, It’s affects are still being felt, it was unjust and should never have happened and nothing like this should happen again.  I think the author did a great job in connecting her readers to the events surrounding the roundup and the fear and feelings of betrayal that were felt. It is hard to comprehend how these Jewish families felt, what they experienced and why it happened in the first place. Before reading this novel I was not aware of the role that France (and apparently other countries as well) played in the execution of Jewish people during the War. While Nazi Germany played the largest role, other countries were also involved. There were so many horrible things done to people during this war.

Being half German, I am sensitive to the remarks and jokes made about Germans as a whole. Many Germans at this time did not like what was happening to their country and to individuals because of their nationality or religion or other views. My Grandma`s family was one of those Germans, who spoke among themselves of the injustices. My Grandma told me that her father would often say, ``Hitler is no good, he is no good for our country``. He died in 1935, less than 3 years after Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Soon after he became chancellor, Hitler began taking rights away from the Jewish people. Grandma`s brother refused to fight and was put into a prison camp and her mother who had grieved for 17 years for the loss of her 6, 5 and 3 year old sons in a fire thanked God that her sons were spared from the war. By the end of the war the part of Germany they lived in had been awarded to Poland and the family was forced to leave their homes and start over. I hope to someday visit my Grandma`s childhood home and tour the parts of Germany and now-Poland she lived. From what I hear, the people who live in the home are very inviting to my family members who come to visit.

It would be hard to see the places where traumatic events took place but at the same time it is this story as told to me by my Grandma that has sparked an interest in understanding the events that took place during World War II.