Synopses & Reviews
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE
"Remarkable...Compelling...Fine and taut...Indelible" --The New York Times - "Mesmerizing and shockingly good...I was utterly blown away." --Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace - "A brilliant debut, as multifaceted as a gem." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) - "Moving, unnerving, and deeply sexy." --Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with the Pearl Earring - "Fans of Patricia Highsmith and Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen will find much to admire here."--Vulture
An exhilarating, twisted tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession
between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside
during the summer of 1961--a powerful exploration of the legacy of WWII
and the darker parts of our collective past.
A house is a precious thing...
It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet.
Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is
truly over. Living alone in her late mother's country home, Isabel knows
her life is as it should be--led by routine and discipline. But all is
upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva,
leaving her at Isabel's doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.
Eva is Isabel's antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through
the house, and touches things she shouldn't. In response, Isabel
develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing
around the house--a spoon, a knife, a bowl--Isabel's suspicions begin to
spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel's paranoia gives way
to infatuation--leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever
known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither
Eva--nor the house in which they live--are what they seem.
Mysterious, sophisticated, sensual, and infused with intrigue, atmosphere, and sex,
The Safekeep is a brilliantly plotted and provocative debut novel you won't soon forget.
Review
“It is the only book I have read this year that has made me cry. . . . Van der Wouden has produced the rare novel about World War II, the Holocaust, and their aftermath that succeeds in feeling fully, intimately human. . . . [The plot] twist is not what makes The Safekeep remarkable; what does is the extraordinary, emotional story Van der Wouden crafts around it, and the pitch-perfect voice she brings to the characters who experience its consequences.” —Talya Zax, The Washington Post
“Quietly remarkable. . . . Van der Wouden’s writing is fine and taut. She lasers in on details, and presents unsentimental and intrinsically powerful metaphors. . . . I would have liked this book in any case, just for the pleasure of reading it. But the story is resolved in such a bold and tender way that it becomes not merely clever, but indelible.” —Lori Soderlind, The New York Times Book Review
"A brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one’s own desires. . . . The tightly controlled narrative breaks open into a tale of erotic awakening, followed by an almighty twist. Anticipating that twist will not lessen its impact—fittingly enough for a novel in which everyone knows more than they can bear to admit. van der Wouden brings stunning power and control to her page-turner about trauma and repression." —The Guardian
"A razor-sharp, perfectly plotted debut novel. . . . This book is worth your time and your patience." —Sunday Times
About the Author
Yael van der Wouden is a writer and a teacher. She lives in Utrecht, Netherlands, and
The Safekeep is her first novel.