The Safekeep
‘A razor-sharp, perfectly plotted debut novel’ Sunday Times
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
'A razor-sharp, perfectly plotted debut novel… This book is worth your time and your patience' Sunday Times
'Moving, unnerving and deeply sexy' Tracy Chevalier, bestselling author of GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
'A house is a precious thing...'
An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes, and the unexpected shape of revenge - for readers of Patricia Highsmith, Sarah Waters and Ian McEwan's Atonement
It's 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is well and truly over. Living alone in her late mother's country home, Isabel's life is as it should be: led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel's doorstep-as a guest, there to stay for the season...
Eva is Isabel's antithesis: sleeps late, wakes late, walks loudly through the house and touches things she shouldn't. In response Isabel develops a fury-fuelled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house-a spoon, a knife, a bowl-Isabel' suspicions spiral out of control. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel's paranoia gives way to desire - 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.
'Surprising, chilling, and electric' Alice Winn, bestselling author of IN MEMORIAM
'The Safekeep is a dream of a novel — mesmerizing and shockingly good... I was utterly blown away' Miranda Cowley Heller, bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACE
'An impressive debut; I already look forward to Van der Wouden’s next' Guardian
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In her hauntingly brilliant debut novel, Dutch writer Yael van der Wouden takes us to the Netherlands in the very early 1960s—specifically to an incredibly quiet rural province called Overrijssel where we find Isabel. Near 30 and unfamiliar with romantic intimacy, Isabel instead busies herself with the important business of maintaining the impressive but perhaps quietly sinister family home. Her domestic order is upturned, however, with the arrival of her (disliked) brother Louis’ girlfriend, Eva—whom Louis quickly deposits at the house while he embarks upon his travels. Eva, is potentially the photo negative of Isabel, and is the subject of Isabel’s accusations around the theft of household items, until, suddenly, there’s a remarkable shift in their relationship as certain truths begin to break free. A mesmeric and beautifully coiled novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Van der Wouden sets her accomplished debut in the Netherlands in 1961, where WWII-era secrets about a family's country home come to light. Isabel, who's nearly 30 and has never been kissed, has lived alone in the house since her mother's death years earlier. She's close with her gay younger brother, Hendrik, but officious with their older sibling, Louis, who inherited the property. When the family moved there in 1944, the house was fully furnished, down to the dinnerware, cooking pots, and sheets. Isabel, fastidious and compulsive, fiercely protects each item, and is distressed when she unearths a shard from a missing plate in the vegetable garden. Then Louis shows up with his girlfriend, Eva, and announces she'll be staying at the house with Isabel while Louis travels. Eva's efforts to engage Isabel are met with rudeness and distance; Isabel resents both Eva's friendliness with the maid and her careless messes. When more items start disappearing—a teaspoon, a letter opener, a thimble—Isabel is perplexed and suspicious, and the story takes an unexpected and dramatic turn that leads to stunning realizations about the women's entwined history. Van der Wouden's sensuous writing and flair for drama make this a winner.
