Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


As much as the subject matter of this book is serious and horrendously sad, the execution of the story comes off as simplistic and trite.

Set during the little-known roundup of Jews at Vel d'Hiv, the characters come off as unbelievably insecure and/or immature (Julia, the main protagonist); insensitive (Bertrand, her husband); or stereotypical (the gay friends debating her decisions regarding romance; the farmers who hide Sarah from the gendarmes, etc.). Furthermore, Julia's voice as a narrator comes across as either self-conscious (i.e. the endless amount of self-questioning) or bland (i.e. numerous examples of "telling, not showing") that the only reason to finish the book is to finish chasing the threads of what essentially turns into a detective story halfway through the book.

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Heading off as part of the Armchair Travels in France bookbox. Enjoy!

This book came home in my Armchair Travels to France Bookbox.
The story looks interesting, I'll add to MT TBR, but may agree with the previous reader and give up on it.
Thanks for including