November’s book club choice was intense. It was Meg’s turn to host, and she selected Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. A synopsis from GoodReads:
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: Journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past, and she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah.
As Julia retraces Sarah’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Apparently our book club has set a precedent of choosing horribly sad books (Shanghai Girls wasn’t exactly full of laughs). I just finished this on vacation the other day (sadly, I wasn’t able to make it to this month’s book club meeting), and I found myself racing through it to find out what happened. At times, my heart was beating out of my chest, and I realized I was holding my breath. It was that good.
I knew nothing of what happened during Paris in July 1942, and it was devastating to learn of the horror that took place. The historical basis of this work of fiction only made the plot all the more intriguing. The only minor drawback to this book: I did wish the author had devoted a little less time to the situation of present-day Julia, and more time to Sarah’s.
MR is hosting a special holiday edition brunch meeting next month, and the pressure is ON. Meg really knocked it out of the park with this one!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m so glad you liked it! You were missed at this month’s meeting, but can’t wait for our holiday brunch!
PS- Your vaca pics look so amazing, and you continue to amaze me with your dedication to HCG. Your loyal readers thank you for posting while on vaca!! :)
Have you guys read “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett? A majority of our club LOVED it (including me). We keep mentioning Sarah’s Key, but it hasn’t made it on the reading list yet. This post has further convinced me to just read it on my own.
There BETTER be a sequel to Shanghai Girls…come ON Lisa, not cool, not cool at all.
P.S. I love your blog and I hope you’re able to stay in vacation mode for a while.
Meg: I’m glad you liked the vacation pictures/posts! I was pretty proud of myself for keeping such a good posting schedule. I had a glimpse of what a life of leisure + HCG would be like, and it was amazing.
LB: Welcome to HCG! I can’t tell you how happy I was to see your comment on here, and I love that you are checking out the blog. You and I have always had similar style interests (remember Lincoln Park After Dark vs. Black Satin in law school?). You will always have a home at Here Comes Gina!
Our book club is only 3 months (and 3 books) old, so we haven’t read The Help yet, but I will definitely put it in the mix for future books. I think you would definitely like Sarah’s Key. Maybe you should try to pressure your book club members to select it soon.
P.S. I couldn’t agree more about Shanghai Girls. Most of our members were pissed about the ending.