Synopses & Reviews
"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
"An astonishingly skillful debut,
The Safekeep manages the rare trick of being both gripping and
intimate. A twisting, elegant, intriguing story about the secrets we
hide in our homes and hearts--and how it only takes one person to unlock
the past." Joanna Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Whalebone Theatre
Review
"Haunting and exquisitely poignant. . . A wonderful novel." Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
Review
"Surprising, chilling, and electric.
The Safekeep is simply a fantastic work of literature." Alice Winn, author of
In Memoriam
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.