Sarah's Key (Midway)

Sarah's Key- Tatiana De Rosnay

* Just an FYI, this post may contain spoilers, read at you own risk!

It’s hard to sit down and do a half-way blog post when the book is so well written and interesting that you just want to keep on reading.  That’s basically what Sarah’s Key is in a nutshell. So far, this book has lived up to its expectations. There are different plot twists that you completely don’t even expect. And not only that, but I’m learning so much more about the Vel d’Hiv and what actually occurred to that group of Jewish people who were affected by the monstrosities of the event.

The point of view and the way the author chooses to tell the story is very crucial to the plot and the way in which the story unfolds. The reader follows two characters, Sarah Starsynski and Julia Jarmond. The book portrays two characters who lead different lives in different time periods, but somehow their lives are connected (I think, so far there hasn’t been that connecting link, but I have a hunch that it has something to do with her brother..)

In term’s of Sarah’s story, and Kurt Vonnegut’s shapes of stories, I would have to say that Sarah is “From Bad to Worse” She started off in a bad (as the name suggests) vulnerable situation, mostly because she did not know the whole truth about what was really happening in the outside world and about the Holocaust. After the roundup, her life takes a toll for the worst and her departure to a camp isn’t helping her dire situation. She does escape, but there are still no guarantees that she is safe.

I’m having a harder time with distinguishing what Julia’s storyline would be considered. She faces her ups and downs, like “Man in Hole” but at the same time, she feeds off of Sarah’s story. As the reader learns about what happened to Sarah, Julia discovers information that the reader knew from a previous chapter and the chapter is uneventful or doesn't reveal anything new or significant. This would lead me to also classify her in the “Which Way is Up?” story shape because there were a couple times her character flatlined during the book (Then again, that's my opinion, feel free to disagree!)

Overall, this book is a fantastic read all around. The two alternating plot lines add suspense and an element of mystery to the novel because you get partial information from each person that helps you put things together. I want to keep reading so badly because I want to see what the author chooses to do that link’s Sarah and Julia’s story together, besides Julia’s research on the Vel d’Hiv. Now that I’ve started reading and my expectations have gotten higher, this book better not let me down!!!

Some quotes I've liked so far:

"She wanted to thank him, for his help, for the money, she wanted to hold her hand out to him, but Rachel grabbed her by the arm and took off, they ran as fast as they could through the high golden wheat, straight ahead, legs bursting, legs and arms helter-skelter, far away from the camp, as far away as possible" (92).

A common idea so far seems to be escape, but with this escape also something comes with return. Both Sarah and Julia seem to run away from their problems. Though Sarah's escape is the difference between life and death for her, Julia's escape from her pregnancy and her failing marriage (or rather avoidance) has the same effect. They both want to forget their problems and move forward with their life, completely forgetting the past.

"We finally found it on the boulevard de Grenelle, just around the corner. A smallish sign. Rather humble. I wondered if anyone ever glanced at it. It read: 'On July 16 and 17, 1942, ...'" (60).

Hand in hand with escaping, part of that seems to be having to forget all of the horrible things that happened in the past. But at the same time, you can't forget the past. The whole point of the book was rediscovering what happened in the Vel d'Hiv and how no one ever remembers it until its the anniversary, then everyone has to learn about what happened. I found it interesting how their was one character who wanted so badly to forget the past, and the contradicting character who wanted so badly to dig into it.