From Vile Southerners to Vile French

  Sarah’s Key, Tatiana de Rosnay
Here’s another historical novel that I read this summer.  I picked it up because I saw that it had been made into a movie and as usual I felt compelled to read the book before I saw the movie.  This book is about a shameful chapter in French history:  the Velodrome d’Hiver round-up of French Jews (mostly women and children) who were held in horrific conditions and then shipped off to almost certain death at Auschwitz.  Although I knew a lot about WWII (or so I thought) I was unaware of this particular operation, so for that reason alone I am grateful that I read this book.

Set in Paris, there are alternating narratives in the novel:  the 11-year-old Sarah in 1942, who hides her baby brother in a locked cupboard before being sent to Vel’ d’Hiv with her family; and 45-year-old Julia, an American journalist married to a French asshole and living in present-day Paris.  As Julia researches the Vel’ d’Hiv round-up for a story she is writing, she uncovers some painful family secrets.  Eventually the links between Sarah and Julia are revealed.  Although it was reasonably engaging and held my interest, it was not as good as The Help.  All in all, though, it’s a good read and appears to be historically accurate.