Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Everyone once in a while you read a book that haunts you. The characters even the most minor of them break your heart. Sarah's Key  is beautifully written and tugs at your heart strings.

The story is told in two parts with decades spanning the time.  The location is Paris and the years are 1942 and 2002. Sarah is only 10 years old and the French Police collaborate with the Nazi's in rounding up Jews in France. A loud knocking awakes the family and Sarah hides her little brother in a the families cupboard, locking it and taking the key with her - little does she know that she will not be returning to her home any time soon. She along with her mother and many other Jewish families are taken to Véledrome d’Hiver and from there transferred to Auschwitz.

Julia is an American journalist living in Paris and on the 60th anniversary of Véledrome d’Hiver  she is asked to write an article. As she delves into this dark history of Paris she comes across a family secret that has a connection to Sarah. The further she investigates the more she questions her marriage and her life in France.

I enjoy when a novel teaches me something and puts me on a path of further discovery. The transitions from time periods are seamless. I feel that the author struggled with the ending but it doesn't take away from the horror of this dark time in history.