The Safekeep
Technical:
- ID: 5
- Added: 2025-08-02
- Updated: 2025-09-06
- ISBN: 9781668034347
- Publisher: Simon and Schuster
- Published: 2024-05-28
- Reviews: 10
Set in the quiet Dutch province of Overijssel in 1961, The Safekeep follows Isabel, a disciplined woman living alone in her late mother's country home. Her carefully maintained routine unravels when her brother Louis leaves his unconventional girlfriend Eva at Isabel’s doorstep for the season. Eva’s carefree behavior clashes with Isabel’s rigid control, igniting a fury-fueled obsession as small household items begin to disappear, feeding Isabel’s spiraling suspicions. As the summer progresses, Isabel’s paranoia morphs into a complex infatuation, revealing hidden layers of her character and leading to a profound discovery about the house’s past. The novel explores themes of identity, control, and the haunting legacy of history, as Eva’s background as a Jewish Holocaust survivor and the true origins of the family home come to light, forcing Isabel to confront uncomfortable truths about her family and herself.
Reviews
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- Isabel is conservative, obstinate and direct to the point of insensitive.
- A confrontation is inevitable. A dynamic of attraction and repulsion ensues.
- Things keep disappearing from the house, which heightens the charged atmosphere.
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- Isabel is written in such a way that she comes across as an unreliable narrator.
- Her controlled, routine led world comes crashing down around her when Eva... comes to stay.
- Isabel’s obsessions spiral even further.
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- Dutch author Yael Van Der Wouden's 2024 Women's Prize for Fiction-winning novel The Safekeep poignantly explores the legacy of the Second World War.
- The novel delves deeply into the psychological scars left by the past.
- It is a moving and powerful examination of history's enduring impact.
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- With its tight plot and delicate thrills, The Safekeep is able to conceal a deeper, richer message residing beneath what we initially believe the story to be.
- The novel is not just about surface suspense but about uncovering hidden layers within the characters and their histories.
- It offers a compelling narrative that slowly reveals more profound truths.
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- A 'masterful' novel about an unlikely romance in the aftermath of war.
- Quiet intensity and nuanced character development bring powerful emotional resonance.
- Exploration of love and trauma handled with subtlety and grace.
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- The Safekeep, a novel about the expropriation and theft of Jewish property during and after the second world war, revisits a dark chapter of Dutch history.
- A profound and chilling reflection on history and its lingering effects.
- An important and thoughtful contribution to historical fiction.
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- Nearly every character in the novel faces a different form of displacement.
- The novel is about hope despite the weight of trauma.
- A brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history.
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- Isabel is a psychologically complex character who singlehandedly loomed above the story.
- The sexual tension between Isa and Eva was pulsating and electric.
- Eva was awakening something in Isa as Isa was learning more about herself.
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- It's a creepy tale with almost gothic 'Rebecca'-esque undertones about the claustrophobia of being stuck in a house with someone you resent.
- Isabel is a real piece of work. She's nasty and rude to almost everyone she meets.
- There is a special kind of humour and pleasure in reading about a character who so unapologetically brushes aside social conventions.
Pull quotes
- Yael van der Wouden's 1960s-set romantic novel, The Safekeep, asks hard questions about Dutch history, but ducks the most difficult answer.