The book tells the stories of Sarah and Julia, two girls/women whose lives intersect through a moment in history. The setting is primarily France, both in 1942 and present day and deals with the impact of a little known episode of French history called the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup on July 16, 1942.
It is a haunting and compelling novel which the group found definitely worth reading. In spite of the sadness of the tale, the horror of the history, and the distress of the repercussions of this event, the group felt that the story was important to read and enjoyed learning about a piece of history of which none of us had heard.
Each chapter alternates between the story of the two characters and most of the book club readers found that this did not detract from the story; they were able to switch back and forth between the characters without confusion. There were a few scenes (which I won’t reveal and ruin your reading) which different members of the book club were upset about how DeRosnay developed the story, but others liked.
We had a lot of very interesting discussions about how we might have acted if we had been in that situation in 1942, what kinds of situations are going on today, and what we might do if confronted with a choice to save a child at the risk of endangering ourselves or our families.
In general, the book was well liked, a quick and easy read, and everyone agreed that it was definitely worth reading, especially for the historical insight gained.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it?
I have red many Holocaust books and this comes very close to being one of the best. I had no idea of the French involvement and their ill treatment of the Jews. They don't love the Jews any better these days.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked the book. As I mentioned we all were very impressed with it as well. We are reading The Godfather by Mario Puzo for our Feb. 6 meeting. If you are local, feel free to join us. 7:30 pm in the kitchen.
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