Author: Yael van der Wouden
Published: 2024
Pages: 272
Prize: Shortlist, Man Booker 2024
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The Safekeep is a suspenseful tale set in 1961 rural Netherlands, where Isabel’s structured life unravels after her brother’s girlfriend Eva arrives. Tension builds between the women, fueled by obsession, paranoia, and dark WWII legacies. As Isabel’s suspicions spiral, she uncovers unsettling truths about Eva and the house, blurring the line between desire and delusion.
Complexity
CEFR: B2-C1
Plot Complexity: moderate
Language Complexity: moderate
Ideas Complexity: high
Blurb
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.
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