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Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay
Tatiana de Rosnay was born in the suburbs of Paris and is of English, French and Russian descent. She is the author of nine French novels. She also writes for French ELLE, and is a literary critic for Psychologies magazine. She is married and has two children. Sarah's Key is her first novel written in her mother tongue, English.
The is fiction, but it has such an authentic feel to it that the listener is compelled to hear the entire story to its end. Ten-year-old Sarah and her parents are rounded up in Paris in the middle of the night in July 1942. Sarah, sure she will return in a short time, locks her little brother in a secret cupboard, promising to free him soon. Sixty years later, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist married to a Frenchman, discovers that her husband's grandparents' apartment, which is currently being renovated for Julia's family, has secrets that link her to Sarah. Julia feels she must pursue Sarah's story to uncover the truth. De Rosnay, born in Paris, has excellent French and French accents and is most successful when voicing the children. Unfortunately she doesn't have the heft and gravitas for the adult women (they have a very youthful and light tone) and the men's voices are not quite as strong as they could be. However, in this instance the story carries the day and this audio book turns out to be worth a listen.
DeRosnay, Tatiana. Sarah's Key. Read by Polly Stone. 8 CDs. 10 hrs. Macmillan Audio/Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 2007/2008. 978-1-4272-0847-7. $29.95.. Cardboard; plot, author notes. SA
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