Summer Reading Books

Posted on September 29th, 2009 in Uncategorized by allyma

Tatiana de Rosnay’s novel, Sarah’s Key, was an exciting, informative, and suspenseful book. Sarah’s Key is a novel about a Jewish girl living in Paris in the 1940’s, during the Vélodrome d’Hiver roundup. Many Jews in France were arrested from their homes by French police on July 16 and 17, 1942. After being locked in the Vélodrome d’Hiver building in inhumane conditions for several days, they were taken to concentration camps, then eventually to Auschwitz. The girl and her family were taken to the Vel d’Hiv building and the camps, leaving their old, happy life behind.

Within the book, there is also another story; this one is of a middle-aged woman in 2002. She is a journalist, researching the Vel d’Hiv for a magazine, since the 60th anniversary is coming up. As the journalist advances in her research, the girl experiences the actual event. The reader is able to see how the woman’s research affects her personal life, especially when she uncovers a shocking event in her family’s past. The two stories connect with each other and eventually intertwine. This gives the audience the ability to view the event from the perspective of both a 10 year old girl in the Vel d’Hiv, as well as a 40 year old woman learning about it for the first time.

Though this book may seem boring for those not too interested in history (including me), it is really interesting read. Along with the facts about the Vel d’Hiv, there are surprising twists, upsetting events, and uplifting moments that make the reader connect with the story. One major thing that surprised me about this book and the Vel d’Hiv, was how many people there are that did not know about this event. When people think of the Holocaust, they imagine, Hitler, Nazis, Germany, and even Anne Frank. Not many people knew that the same dreadful events were happening in France. Even a woman who teaches Holocaust classes did not know much about the Vel d’Hiv before reading Sarah’s Key.

I recommend that everyone reads Sarah’s Key. It was an enjoyable novel with painful and moving occurrences with surprises at every corner.

Hello world!

Posted on September 24th, 2009 in Uncategorized by allyma

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