tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post123775459213395296..comments2024-03-18T20:00:47.729-05:00Comments on Book Chase: Sarah's KeySam http://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-52260245847873546912011-08-09T12:11:26.340-05:002011-08-09T12:11:26.340-05:00I agree with the comment that it was hard to fatho...I agree with the comment that it was hard to fathom how Sarah could abandon her son by killing herself. I realize she was horribly scarred by her childhood experiences, but she felt so guilty about "abandoning" her brother, yet she does the same thing to another little boy -- her own! And one thing that no one seems to comment on is the role of Sarah's mother in abandoning her son. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-18837647014562756032011-03-01T21:37:51.995-06:002011-03-01T21:37:51.995-06:00I didn't quite read this book at one sitting, ...I didn't quite read this book at one sitting, but within twenty-four hours, something I haven't done for a very long time. <br /><br />As soon as the type face changed I thought, 'Ha,ha I have a choice.' So I skipped every other chapter reading only Sarah's terse account before going back to read Julia's piecing together of the story. <br /><br />I don't quite Alan Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16434923502647217184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-45884173425137754782011-02-16T12:33:20.557-06:002011-02-16T12:33:20.557-06:00So glad I found your site - I was doing some resea...So glad I found your site - I was doing some research for our book club on "Sarah's Key" and found you and lots of interesting takes on the book. Thanks for a great blog!Thistledew Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18132176716214166387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-38163239956096525742010-08-08T16:39:03.899-05:002010-08-08T16:39:03.899-05:00Unfortunately, Anonymous, this is just the tip of ...Unfortunately, Anonymous, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what French authorities were guilty of when the Nazis took France.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-67688534873662459672010-08-08T14:20:48.071-05:002010-08-08T14:20:48.071-05:00I just read Sarah's Key, started at 5pm and co...I just read Sarah's Key, started at 5pm and could not put it down. An amazing book, I had no idea that the french police were responsible for rounding up all those families, so very horrible and sad. Thank you Tatiana for writing this book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-34331095266128458302010-03-05T12:16:54.125-06:002010-03-05T12:16:54.125-06:00She was definitely a victim, Swallow, and a scarre...She was definitely a victim, Swallow, and a scarred one, at that. Thanks for your thoughts.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-75828060123002185242010-03-02T10:07:58.983-06:002010-03-02T10:07:58.983-06:00I'm glad that de Rosnay didn't give a happ...I'm glad that de Rosnay didn't give a happy ending for Sarah.Although terribly sad,it is much more realistic. Someone who suffered such traumas in childhood is never going to be a happy stable person in adulthood. How could you say (annonymous) that she was as guilty as the French police? She was an innocent victim.swallownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-46034868177512027692010-01-19T18:25:25.744-06:002010-01-19T18:25:25.744-06:00I agree that this is a remarkable book, Ayu. It d...I agree that this is a remarkable book, Ayu. It deserves to be widely read and that seems to be happening because I still get more feedback on this book than on any other I've ever posted about.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-31285013460637535582010-01-17T21:49:31.539-06:002010-01-17T21:49:31.539-06:00I have read the book and it's touching. From t...I have read the book and it's touching. From the first page till last.. feel the real situation. Tatiana, two tumbs up!Mamisingahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06798796226856712499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-22955680501097433942009-10-19T18:51:35.095-05:002009-10-19T18:51:35.095-05:00That's an interesting take on the variation be...That's an interesting take on the variation between the two parts of the book, Anonymous. It does make sense but you might be crediting the author with something she never thought of...maybe she'll tell us.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-19594594516359081972009-10-19T18:45:38.446-05:002009-10-19T18:45:38.446-05:00I found the ending a little jarring at first, too,...I found the ending a little jarring at first, too, Anonymous. It seemed out of character for Sarah but I suppose it shows the damage that was done in her childhood.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-46177121792177535752009-10-18T18:42:48.772-05:002009-10-18T18:42:48.772-05:00Even though the voice of Sarah ended abruptly, it ...Even though the voice of Sarah ended abruptly, it really lends itself to how it was for the Jews back then. Their whole existance endeded abruptly, didn't it? That's how it was for Sarah also when she left her old life and became someone else. That too was abrupt for her. The book mirrors all the abrupt changes that Sarah and her people went through both in that fateful time in their Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-87165223039382324262009-10-12T21:03:37.867-05:002009-10-12T21:03:37.867-05:00Sarah abandoned her son and husband; she is guilty...Sarah abandoned her son and husband; she is guilty, as were the French police, of depriving her family of her love and her presence. I did not see that coming; it does not follow from her childhood concern about her brother. <br /><br />She did not thank the couple who cared for her and loved her. Her character dropped off the radar screen to surface long enough to kill herself. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-15504045131255609142009-10-05T17:36:21.562-05:002009-10-05T17:36:21.562-05:00Thanks for the book recommendation, Suemny, sounds...Thanks for the book recommendation, Suemny, sounds like something I need to check out. That's a bit of American history of which I was totally unaware.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-65686100610315856122009-10-05T09:14:07.308-05:002009-10-05T09:14:07.308-05:00I just finished reading Sarah's Key.It was a h...I just finished reading Sarah's Key.It was a haunting account of a shameful event in France's history. Readers who enjoyed Sarah's Key might want to read Haven by Ruth Gruber. It is an account of 1,000 refugees(mostly, but not all Jewish) who were invited by President Roosevelt to come to America during 1944. They were interred, for lack of a better word, on an abandoned army base in suemnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14614690437870441014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-56702035215024551752009-09-21T13:29:27.111-05:002009-09-21T13:29:27.111-05:00Anonymous, I think the author added to the "m...Anonymous, I think the author added to the "mystery" of the story by silencing Sarah when she did. It left the field wide open for Julia to explore the past for herself, during which she learned so much about her own family. It worked that way but I personally experienced a drop in my emotional commitment to the story when Sarah left.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-87612829509211924982009-09-21T13:24:55.353-05:002009-09-21T13:24:55.353-05:00Anonymous, the book seems to have made quite an im...Anonymous, the book seems to have made quite an impact on thousands of readers. Your reaction to the book is the measure of greatness when it comes to fiction. It's not a book I will soon forget either.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-78341435221731077872009-09-21T09:37:15.404-05:002009-09-21T09:37:15.404-05:00I actually sort of liked that we did not hear Sara...I actually sort of liked that we did not hear Sarah's thoughts after the halfway point. What else could she possibly say? She obliterated herself from her own life. Julia's obsesssion with Vel' d'Hiv (how is that pronounced?) was somewhat hard for me to fathom. <br /><br />For a similar novel about Italy's and Italian's reaction to the Shoah, read Mary Doria Russell's Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-20224705065023572042009-09-19T13:09:49.766-05:002009-09-19T13:09:49.766-05:00I am not an avid reader. Something made me pick u...I am not an avid reader. Something made me pick up this new release off the library shelf 3 days ago. I too liked the fact that we lost Sarah's voice. It made Sarah's letter late in the book more emotional, something I am not sure could have been as raw or deep as hearing her continue her story. Her son's understanding of her "accident" hit a cord with me. The split of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-45798234483189530102009-07-27T21:42:23.340-05:002009-07-27T21:42:23.340-05:00That's an interesting reaction, Anonymous. I ...That's an interesting reaction, Anonymous. I understand perfectly what you're saying and I think you're onto something. Thanks.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-51357026621016828012009-07-27T08:26:43.885-05:002009-07-27T08:26:43.885-05:00I actually enjoyed how we lost Sarah's voice m...I actually enjoyed how we lost Sarah's voice mid-way through the book. The focus of the story is through the impact that Vel' d'hiv had, not the survivors, but on the by-standers and people who are at least one-generation removed. Losing Sarah's voice helped to emphasize all that was lost. A very good read!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-38618824778940775262009-07-16T21:36:11.171-05:002009-07-16T21:36:11.171-05:00herculesire, "Sarah's Key" is very d...herculesire, "Sarah's Key" is very definitely one of the most moving books I've ever read. I do think that the second half of the book falls a bit flat, but that may just be because the first half is so good.<br /><br />I hadn't realized that the anniversary of that tragic day was today. Thank you for reminding me. I used to think this kind of thing could never happen Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-24384482160129346022009-07-16T21:32:24.453-05:002009-07-16T21:32:24.453-05:00Im struggling... This book was recommended to me a...Im struggling... This book was recommended to me and I went ahead and downloaded it on my Kindle yesterday (July 15) without so much as looking at a summary. Im already heartbroken and not even halfway through the first half of the book. Being that today marks 67 years to the day of the Vel d'Hiv, I think I will turn back to the story ever grateful to be a Jew living in this time and place,herculeslrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-23002367521633301092009-02-13T19:22:00.000-06:002009-02-13T19:22:00.000-06:00Those are beautiful photos, Susan...very touching....Those are beautiful photos, Susan...very touching. I really like the way that you highlighted each of the individuals and regrouped some of them into meaningful units. You're very talented. Thanks for stopping by.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-48355643968279443662009-02-12T09:35:00.000-06:002009-02-12T09:35:00.000-06:00I too, just finished this book this week for a boo...I too, just finished this book this week for a book club. Interesting premise and I'm glad I am aware of the atrosities that took place by the French police during this time. The book inspired me to pay homage to the memorial that was erected at the Vel' d'hiv site by Walter Spitzer. I took photos while I was there this week and also posted on my blog if you are interested in viewing these. Susan Kozlowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08135386011822019313noreply@blogger.com