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Book Review of Sarah's Key

Sarah's Key
shukween avatar reviewed on + 118 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


I enjoyed this easy read, historical fiction-lite novel. The story tells the harrowing fate of a French Jewish boy, destined to die in a closet, locked there by his sister, who, upon hearing the police at the door to seize the family, thought to protect him. Her story is heartwrenching--a lifelong ordeal with the attendant guilt, both for her brother's death and her own survival. Intertwined with this poignant fictional tale is the tale of a modern American journalist who slowly, uncovers the sister's story and sets her own life on a collision course.

The author's voice is entertaining, and the true context of the sister's story is riveting and shines a light on a little-remembered incident in Holocaust history. The American journalist is difficult to like, perhaps intentionally so---one character is as genuine and upstanding as they come, the other, her perfect contrast, is rather shallow and un-reflective on her own life and choices.