This is an intriguing tale of desire and intimacy, secrets and obsession in the Dutch countryside. Set in the summer of 1961, this book is definitely a transporting one. The main character, Isabel, is living on her own in her late mother’s country home, and everything seems in order before the arrival of her brother Louis’ girlfriend, Eva, who seems to break the routine and order Isabel has established. Louis himself is briefly mentioned as he lives in the city and Isabel’s other brother, Hendrik, is living with his boyfriend, Sebastian.

Everything Eva does seems to trigger Isabel. One thing leads to another and Isabel’s desire for Eva is slowly revealed. Then, things start to disappear and when Isabel discovers that Eva has been taking from the house, she asks her to leave. More secrets are then slowly revealed. The book really describes desire, awakening and longing very well, not only romantically, but also in the case of belonging. It also describes the atmosphere of a post-war life well.

“…No one ever knows anything in this country. No one knows where they live, who did what, who went where. Everything is a mystery. Knowledge is elusive.”

Poignant in so many ways. I thought it was a breathtaking read.

My fourth read from the Booker Prize longlist this year and I think this might be my favourite so far. I wasn’t sure about it to start with - the first two parts were OK, where you are introduced to the characters and learn about their relationships but around the 65% mark I was debating whether to DNF it. I kept going and I am so glad I did - the third part changes your view of the whole story and all of the characters! It was brilliantly done and made me want to go back to the start to read it all over again.

Definitely worthy of being on the Booker Longlist. I didn’t get around to reading it before it was published but I’m so glad I’ve read it now - a great story and very worthy of being on the longlist!

I can appreciate this is a well written book, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. It was not what I was expecting at all.
I did not like the character of Isabel. I only started to like the book once we got to Eva's diary (about 70% in) and then the book started to make more sense and was much more interesting. But it took too much to get there. Not really for me unfortunately.

It's 1961 and Isabel lives in an isolated home by herself after her mother's death. However, when her brother's girlfriend arrives at the house for an extended stay

This novel was a slow burn that captured me from the first page and left me spellbound. The relationship between Isabel and Eva was so tense that at times I felt like I needed to look away. Isabel's relationship with the house and her mother and brothers as well as the house itself unfolded in a way which had me captivated. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and that's always a sign of a beautiful and haunting read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

At first, I wasn't sure if this book was for me but I'm so glad I gave it a chance.

The story, divided into three perfectly-paced acts, centres around a house in post-war Netherlands. Reclusive Isabel's life is upended when her brother's girlfriend moves in and both her quiet solitude and version of history is challenged. The tension of the novel builds from painful loneliness, through repression and longing to an unsettling but beautiful ending.

It's a quick read but packs a punch, with some added spice! If you like historical fiction and complex characters, I'd recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC

I began The Safekeep some time ago and then halfway through found it no longer gripped me. When I read it had been long listed for the Booker prize I picked the book up again. I'm glad I did continue reading it although I did find some of the erotic scenes a bit to near the mark for me. By the time I realised what Eva was up to I was enthralled but it was quite late in the narrative by then.

Set in the Dutch countryside in 1961 Isabel lives alone in her late mother's house until the arrival of Eva, her brother Louis' girlfriend. Eva is an uncompromising guest who throws everything into disarray, turning Isabel's ordered life completely upside down. After a while Isabel notices things go missing: small things like a knife, a bowl - items that are of no real value but cause Isabel to develop a paranoia as well as an obsession with her unwelcome guest. But this is ultimately a story of revenge and Eva is not what she appears to be.

Although I felt the book was uneven in places, which contributed to my stopping reading it, I am glad I persevered as The Safekeep is a very clever story and immaculately plotted. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the opportunity to read and review The Safekeep. It deserves to do well.

This book is deeply lyrical and clever, revelling in subtlety and poignancy. Isabel is a compelling character, and her stuffiness reveals much more in the other characters than first appears.

Although I found the book uneven in its pacing, with a tense start and a less focused middle, I think there is a lot to enjoy here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a masterfully crafted novel set against the backdrop of the 1961 Dutch countryside, delving into the shadows of WWII and the intricacies of family legacy.

The story centers around Isabel, who is deeply attached to her family's country house and its cherished contents, including the ornate dinner plates. While her brother Louis, who is to inherit the house, lives a transient city life with various girlfriends, Isabel’s connection to the house remains strong. When Louis leaves for a business trip, his current girlfriend, Eva, is left behind in the house with Isabel—an arrangement that Isabel initially dreads. Eva's vibrant and assertive nature, however, disrupts Isabel’s world in unexpected ways, leading to a complex and evolving relationship between the two women.

The novel's atmosphere is both taut and evocative, drawing readers into a story rich with emotional depth and historical resonance. The interactions between Isabel and Eva unfold with a languid intensity, making this book a standout read. It’s a compelling and poignant exploration of family, identity, and the lingering effects of the past.

Loved this - it‘s up there at the top of my own Booker shortlist with Stone Yard Devotional. I don‘t want to talk too much about the plot - you need to read it for yourself. I had a little inkling partway through but the denouement was still devastating.

Isabel lives a friendless, neurotic life alone in her family house in The Netherlands in the 1960s, until her brother‘s new girlfriend comes to stay while he is away, upending her life.

Beautiful. Heart breaking. Atmospheric. Hard to believe this is the authors first novel. I think I felt tense the whole way through reading it.

Very gothic tale with an unreliable narrator set after the war. Characters can be very unlikable until you realise why they are the way they are.

A beautiful yet powerful book where the author's storytelling is incredible. Another historical fiction that will ignite all kinds of emotions in your heart and will make you smile and will make you cry. The author has spent a great amount of effort in writing the characters of Isabella and Eva and has done great justice. Even thought WW2 has ended but has it truly when Eva spends the season at Isabella's house? The house holds secrets of its own and Eva's arrival will reveal them sooner rather than later. An emotional book that will tug at your heart and make you wonder how war never really ends and how it changes generations.

Beautifully written and imbued with a beguiling emotional texture, The Safekeep is a stunner of a debut. A wholly absorbing, sapphic historical fiction that celebrates the transcendent power of female love in the face of past injustice and betrayal.

I came into this blind and was immediately drawn in by Van Der Wouden’s sparse, elegant prose and my growing curiosity about the main character, Isabel, a young woman living alone in her family home in the Dutch countryside, following the death of her mother and the departure of her brothers for the city.

Isabel’s life is defined by loneliness, routine and the bitterness she harbors for her lot, and she is less than amused when elder brother Louis foists his latest girlfriend upon her while he travels for work. Isabel dislikes her guest upon sight, mostly because Eva is everything she’s not, and when small items start to go missing from the house, she is certain she knows who’s to blame. As Isabel’s fury builds, so do other dormant emotions she never knew existed.

Set against the sweltering heat of the summer of 1961, Van Der Wouden’s unfolding of the relationship between the two women is executed with a delicate but incisive touch: a tentative dance that dips and sways before exploding into an erotic, all-consuming passion.

It’s a transformative, earth-shattering awakening which, in its description, teeters on the verge of erotica but is ultimately saved by Van Der Wouden perfectly balancing the rawness of the lovers’ physical intimacy with the beauty of their emotional connection.

Of course, there’s a sting in the tail, a plot shift that introduces a chilling, new strand to the story. One that speaks to injustice, complicity and revenge. It’s a wholly unexpected twist that in a single, masterful stroke both underpins and shatters the narrative. It blew me away.

By any reckoning, The Safekeep is a sublime piece of storytelling. As a debut, it’s remarkable. Recommended for fans of Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith and Ian McEwan’s Atonement.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden blew my mind! I was intrigued by a novel about a post-war Netherlands, 1961 and people rebuilding their lives and communities.

Isabel is living in the home of her late mother, a beautiful house that anyone would be envious of, grand, opulent and everything Isabel could want, and is, that is until her brother drops off his girlfriend and tranquilty turns to chaos

Imagine living with a person that you hardly know, in your space, who is the opposite of you in every way. Resentment soon begins to simmer, and as things start to go missing, reaches a terrifying boiling point...

A stunning debut that had me utterly engrossed. Not at all what I was expecting and certainly an authour I will be following!

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business | Viking and the author Yael van der Wouden for this belter of an ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are entirely mine and authentic.

Set in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961, The Safekeep is a gorgeously romantic and equally captivating novel that tells the story of Isabel, a woman who is attached to her family’s country house. The home will one day belong to her brother Louis who prefers city living, yet the house means everything to Isabel – it’s rooted in family nostalgia and storied history. When Louis is away for a work trip, his girlfriend stays behind to live in the country house with Isabel, much to her disgust. But her fury spirals and soon gives way to desire. ‘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.’

This summery, romantic and nostalgic tale made for a beautiful read. It unfolds slowly, languidly, and in such a way that you don’t even notice the story becoming something else entirely. What a feat from the author. Isabel has a rich background and her sense of self is portrayed wonderfully – an innate longing for home, belonging and comfort. Eva is the perfect antithesis to homely Isabel and the romantic longings and queer desire are executed incredibly. There’s soft romance and desire interwoven throughout and I just lapped it all up beneath the English June sunshine. I don’t read much literary fiction these days, but I adored the exactness and joyful lushness of the writing here. It transported me straight to the Dutch countryside, and I was loathe to leave it.

This is mesmerising and unexpected! The story telling is incredible, with very sensual writing. The tension and the build up are very well done and I really enjoy reading it! All the characters are very sharp and well portrayed and I don't want to spoil a single bit of this book, go read it!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

"The Safekeep" by Yael van der Wouden is an exhilarating tale of desire and obsession set in the Dutch countryside in 1961. Isabel, deeply attached to her family’s country house, finds her world upended when her brother's girlfriend, Eva, comes to stay. Tensions rise as Eva's strong personality challenges Isabel, leading to unexpected intimacy and confrontation.

Van der Wouden masterfully explores themes of legacy and the darker parts of our collective past, using rich imagery and precise foreshadowing to build suspense. Despite some redundant sentences, the novel’s prose captivates, with symbolic descriptions enhancing the narrative. While the ending might feel a bit flimsy, the story’s complexity and emotional depth make "The Safekeep" a compelling and thought-provoking read.

I really struggled to engage with this book. Whilst I did finish it I felt my reading was superficial and therefore I find it hard to review. There are some excellent reviews and I think it will appeal to many but I missed a lot of the nuances as my mind kept slipping.

Beautiful book - one of my favourite books of 2024. It starts slowly and I really thought it was going in one direction and didn’t anticipate the twist at all.
The twist is so beautifully executed and it has made me think about the book often since finishing it.

This was a book with many layers which kept peeling insight, beauty and surprise throughout. The characters went from being unlikeable to becoming close to my heart. The exploration of freedom from rules, injustice and prejudice was nuanced and intelligent. I loved the subtlety with which Isabel, the protagonist's neuro divergence was written and how the strict framework of her world was deconstructed allowing her to experience a richness to her life experience that had always been shut away. The prose was sometimes a little overwritten but there were also moments of beautiful writing which will stay with me. This book brings so many new ideas to historical fiction - highly commend the skill of this author.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.