Set in post-war Netherlands, this novel gives interesting glimpses of the history and attitudes of the time but also focuses on one main character, Isabel, who lives a somewhat isolated existence in her family home after other members have left. Her constant companion is therefore the house, which takes on its own character and contributes a delightfully broody atmosphere. Everything changes however after Isabel’s brother brings home his girlfriend to stay and the safe cocoon she has built around herself is challenged. I found this immersive and atmospheric novel very enjoyable and easy to get into.

It’s 1961, and in the middle of the Dutch countryside in a beautiful house lives Isabel. After the death of her mother, her two brothers Louis and Hendrik moved on to the city leaving Isabel on her own. Subsequently becomes attached to the house and all its possessions. Content with her own company and set routine, Isabel becomes angry after Louis allows his girlfriend Eva to move into the house whilst he is away for work. Tensions rise between the two women, and as things start to go missing, is there more to Eva than meets the eye?

Oh yes, this book was STUNNING! 🤩 I absolutely devoured this book in the space of one afternoon and quite frankly I didn’t want it to end. Beautiful lyrical writing, incredible pacing, SO MUCH TENSION - ugh this was just a dream to read. Its exactly the type of historical fiction I love and I will be recommending this to absolutely everyone for the foreseeable future 😭😂

"She knew Eva was there, knew she had approached. She would never not know. She would never leave a room again and not leave half of her behind."

It's 1961 and Isabel lives alone in the house she grew up in the Dutch countryside. It's been promised to her brother, Louis, who lives in the city and doesn't seem very interested in it. Instead, he brings 'home' girl after girl, and Isabel believes he'll never settle down and want the house. It's all she has. Then, he brings home Eva and soon after, he asks Isabel to put up Eva for a month while he goes on a work trip.

Isabel can't stand Eva. In her stuck-up way, she feels like her home, her identity has been invaded and she treats Eva poorly. And yet, as time passes, Isabel feels herself drawn to the other woman, and begins to thaw, though she fights it at first. And so, the two build up a fierce and passionate connection that will lead to the discovery of a secret that could destroy them both.

Initially, I thought there was a danger I might not finish this book. It's a slow burn; in the beginning, I struggled to see where it was going. But I am so glad I stuck with it. It reminded me of the film 'Carol' in some ways. It is a deeply resonant look at how we form our identities, the meaning of what a home is, and how important it is to scratch beneath the surface.

This sapphic work of historical fiction is gorgeous and moving. The twist/reveal broke my heart and I was profoundly moved. Isabel is unlikeable in the extreme, particularly for the first half of the book, while Eva seems flighty and shallow. Both these perceptions are challenged and ultimately subverted.

June is Pride Month and this will certainly be one of my recommendations.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for this eCopy to review

The Safekeep was an interesting insight into a place and period of time I do not know much about, after the end of world war 2 in rural Holland. The main characters Isabel and Eva drew me in by how despite being opposites in everything when thrown together for a month living in the family home they form a relationship. The feelings of malevolence are excellent with many secrets about the house being revealed.

A thought provoking read

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

its definitely creepy and atmospheric but for me it didnt hold my attention and i tried to like isobel but there was something about her character that i just didnt like....

This book has a fantastic premise - a rarely told story of the aftermath of WWII in a region that I feel is often overlooked in history. I leapt at the chance to read a cross section of historical fiction with a new lens.

However, I was let down by the middle section of the book - it dragged on between Isa and Eva; to a point that I very nearly gave up on the story. They're both extremely strong, nuanced women, and their relationship was an odd one. I enjoyed the idea that Eva would be there to loosen up the tightly wound Isa, who'd otherwise be a spinster living in a precarious position and without an estate to inherit. I'm not sure I entirely got what I was looking for, in that respect (without spoilers!)

Overall I wish this had gone through a separate editing round, since the idea and the wordcraft were a strong jumping point - it just lacked the punchiness or intrigue I think is needed.

Set in post-war 1960’s Netherlands, The Safekeeping is a novel of two extremely different women in one home which often acts as a character itself, full of history and family drama. Isabel is a cold and difficult character, when her brothers new girlfriend Eva, comes to stay with her, she is challenged by her new house guests warmth and carelessness. This is a beautifully written novel with complex and well-rounded characters, full of sensuality, reserved emotion, self-realisation, and quiet pain. A wonderful debut!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this. Beautiful, atmospheric writing with a story full of twists. Exposes the devastating impact of the Holocaust in post war Europe and also has a really interesting exploration around the theme of houses and homes. The super heart wrenching queer love story was also amazingly written. This book really took me by surprise, I never knew what was around the corner. An amazing debut!

This was an interesting novel which cast a light on a bit of history I didn’t know much about, the aftermath of WW2 in the Netherlands.

The book is set in 1961 and the two main characters are 30-year-old Isabel and Eva, a couple of years older, so both had been children during the war years. Isabel is paranoid and neurotic, living alone in a house on the east coast which her uncle purchased during the war for her mother and the children to live in after the death of her father; it has been promised to Louis, the older of her two brothers, on her uncle’s death. Her other brother Hendrik is in a relationship with a French man of mixed descent, two facts which are quietly not mentioned in the family. Eva is the latest in a long line of short-lived women Louis introduces to his siblings. Most of these girlfriends come to one dinner and are never seen again, and are generally despised by Isabel and Hendrik, but in spite of an awkward first meeting with the family Eva asks to stay with Isabel while Louis is away on business for a month.

The story builds slowly and menacingly. Isabel lovingly cares for the house and her mother’s favourite things including a set of dinnerware with a hare motif. She is shocked when Hendrik casually mentions that it wasn’t their mother’s at all but had come with the house, which had been bought fully furnished in 1942. She is discombobulated by Eva’s arrival, becoming convinced that Eva is stealing things. She becomes more and more anxious and uptight, and the atmosphere becomes increasingly claustrophobic, until a turning point comes when she is forced to acknowledge that her dislike of Eva is in fact underpinned by a fierce sexual attraction. For a while it feels as though the novel is just going to be a lesbian romance, but the final third takes another turn.

The shadow of the war looms large, even 15 years after its end, all the more present for the memories not really being confronted head on. A dimly remembered episode, when the family were visited just after the end of the war by a hysterical woman with her daughter demanding that her property should be returned, has long ramifications for the plot. I did see the final twist coming from very early on, which probably doesn’t matter since this isn’t a thriller, but it did make the middle third, the developing relationship between Isabel and Eva, feel too long. As obligatory queer subplots in contemporary novels go, this one fitted in better with the overall purpose than some others I’ve read, but I am getting to the point where it’s a device in historical novels that is making me a bit weary.

So, as is often the case with well researched first novels, I’m going to say that there is a lot in this one which is of great interest, and it’s written very well, but it needed to be a bit tighter I think. Worth reading though.

Wow, this certainly wasn’t quite what I was expecting! The story of a house and its belongings, the people who live in it, love and relationships, being true to yourself and the secrets that are hidden away rather than admitted to.
I very much enjoyed this book: the way the characters were drawn and the peeling back of layers to reach the truths. I thought it was a great debut novel which unexpectedly took me out of my comfort zone at times and certainly threw out plenty of food for thought.
With thank to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin General UK for an arc in exchange for a review.

This is a fantastic novel - an intense and heady story of family, passion and ownership set in 1960s Netherlands.

When Isabel’s brother asks her to let his girlfriend stay with her in their family home while he travels abroad, a chain of events is set in motion which leads her to question the fundamentals of her life. It’s beautifully written, with a lyricism that conveys her sensual and emotional awakening as well as the claustrophobia of the life Isabel has imprisoned herself in.

Alongside this discovery of passionate love and self-awareness comes a revelation that will change the family’s stories about themselves. It reminded me of Alice Winn’s In Memoriam, as both are historical novels centred around LGBTQ+ love (though set in different periods and countries), and both are real page-turners. I was interested to see Winn mentioned in the acknowledgements and hope that this novel will enjoy similar success.

Thanks to Penguin Random House for a review copy: this was truly a pleasure to read.

This is a beautifully written, considered, and thought provoking haunting debut from Yael van der Woudon, a piece of literary historical fiction set in 1961, a character study, an exploration of the repercussions of WW2, family, history, sexual identity, the social norms, attitudes and expectations of women and the limitations this can confer. In the peaceful rural Dutch province of post-war Overjissel, a lonely Isabel is the caretaker of the 'precious' family country home, she is nearly 30 years old, her life curtailed, the house is destined for her brother, Louis, who prefers to live in the city. Isa's other brother Hendrick has managed to escape the tentacles of the house, he resides in the city, with his French Algerian partner, Sebastian, visiting Isa in the hope of luring her into emulating a more independent life.

Isa is driven by everyday routines, tinged with paranoia as she zealously counts and obsesses over pieces of cutlery and other household items, the house maid coming under her suspicious eyes. Louis goes through women easily, but he thinks he has found the one in Eva, whom he brings home, but having to leave, he installs Eva in the house, although there is ice when it comes to how Isa feels towards her. The 2 women are distinctly different characters, there are issues of class, Eva is bold, brash and brassy in comparison to Isa, and Isa rages against how much she makes herself at home, overstepping the boundaries of politeness. However, the ice begins to melt, and fire begins to takeover in their relationship, but who exactly is Eva?

This is a slow, intensely gripping and emotive historical fiction that is hypnotic, the characters are not particularly people I liked, but so skilfully drawn that I could not help but become immersed in the captivating narrative and the key issues it raises, from the war, its consequences and the elements and details of the post-war European world and society. I have no doubt that this book will do well on publication, I can see it appealing to fans of historical fiction and a wide range of other readers too. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

A terrific debut novel with the plot bearing swiftly - too swiftly? - in a most unexpected direction. For a large part of the novel, two unlikeable female leads, the one cold and crotchety, the other ‘fake’ and untrustworthy. Then, a beloved house, trauma, loss and ultimately, redemption.

As a side note, it doesn’t have the feel of the 60s to me - seems a good 10 years earlier.

My thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy, provided through Netgalley.
Set in the Netherlands in 1961, the war is over – bomb craters have been filled and buildings rebuilt. Isabel lives alone in her late mother’s house, her two brothers living in the city, and she’s happy with her quiet life of routine and order. But this life is turned upside-down when her brother Louis brings his new girlfriend Eva to stay for the summer while he’s on a business trip. Eva couldn’t be more different to Isabel, but when Isabel starts to notice things disappearing her suspicions spiral. But hate and love aren’t too far removed, and paranoia leads to infatuation. What follows is a summer of discoveries, both good and bad.
I can’t believe this book is the author’s debut novel because I thought it was fantastic. There were wonderful twists I never saw coming, but they made complete sense when they happened. I almost wished the story could have been longer as the characters and the setting were great.
The characters in this book are really good, and there was a bit of variety despite the small cast. Isabel has some good growth over the story – she’s a little annoying at the start but gets less. Eva I think is the most complex character, and the contrast between her and Isabel drives the story forward really well. I loved Isabel’s other brother Hendrik, who lives with his partner Sebastian, and I wished they’d been in the book more as they seemed sweet. I think my one criticism was that the characters felt a little shallow at points, and could have done with a little bit more fleshing out.
Overall, I loved reading this book, and I would recommend it to fans of historical romance. Especially if you also enjoy queer romance!

This was an intriguing read. When Louis tells his sister that his girlfriend will be staying with her while he is away, it does not go down well. Isabel is disciplined, lives by routines and hates intrusion. So when Eva arrives, Isabel hates everything about her. She is vibrant, outgoing and wants to be accepted.
As truths come to light, Isabel starts to light both women have something to fight for.
This is a great read, heartache, passion and finding love under strange circumstances.

An immersive page turner set in Holland in the 60's that gives insight into the aftermath and residual issues of the war on those who came back from the camps after world war 2. Whilst I liked the writing and characters, the gratuitous and prolonged intimate scenes didn't add to the plot and took away from the flow of the story for me. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advance digital review copy.

The house is everything and was just as much a character as the women. What does it mean to be ‘at home’ and what does it mean to want to belong? You could spend an age studying the inner meaning of this novel but honestly, just as a story, it’s enough. There’s so many layers to it.

Set in the Dutch countryside in 1961, we meet Isabel, who lives a quiet life entirely devoted to her childhood home. Her brother Louis, who will one day inherit the house, prefers a city life and flits from girl to girl. With the arrival of his latest girlfriend Eva in the countryside, Isabel’s quiet world is turned upside down. A slow start but then filled with vivid atmosphere, eroticism, longing and desire. Written with a deep amount of care for its main characters, it becomes an unexpected page turner by the end. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK for the advance read.

Love as forest fire, earthquake, tsunami and even transformation

What an extraordinary and surprising read this is. Set in 1961, primarily in a house in the Dutch countryside, which has a background hinted at, and then slowly and shockingly revealed, this features two protagonists, Isabel and Eva.

Isabel lives alone in the house, since her mother died. She is an archetype of the unmarried daughter whose horizons are minute, caring for her mother, left to do so by her two brothers. One brother, Henrik, whom she is closest to, left home quite young, for reasons which will become clear. The other, Louis, is an inveterate womaniser. On the rare occasions when the siblings meet, there is always another woman whom Louis thinks is ‘the one’ in his life. She will no doubt be as quickly abandoned because he has become obsessed with yet another, as all her previous incarnations.

Isabel, in her 30’s, has become more and more of a recluse, obsessed with the things in her house, convinced that her daily hired help is stealing things. She is frozen, possibly has had some personality disorder for some time, or maybe, just never been able to recognise her true self. She pretty well hates strangers, change, and is uncomfortable anyway in the company of others.

Dragged against her will to a meeting with Louis’ latest flame, Eva, a brash seeming young woman with peroxided hair, Isabel hates her on sight, and spitefully humiliates her. So it is particularly shocking and awful when Louis foists Eva on Isabel for a month, while he is away on work. The house and its contents, which Isabel deeply loves, has been left to Louis, not Isabel, by bequest.

So – we have the complexities of siblings, of dysfunction not just within families, but within society, cultures and history itself, as will become clear during the latter stages of the book, where Eva’s history is revealed.

And, explosively, erotically, this is also the history of an explosive relationship, where, for a multiplicity of reasons, repulsion and attraction are tangled all together.

This is quite a short book, but it is absolutely concentrated, and ties the reader up tightly within characters and narrative. Highly recommended. Highly.

It has also sent me exploring aspects of Dutch history which I didn’t know about

Finally, it has one of the longest and most excited acknowledgement sections at the end!

This intriguing story is set in the Netherlands at the start of the 1960s, but its themes concern the ongoing repercussions of the Second World War, the occupation of the Netherlands, and the treatment of Dutch Jews.

Isabel, Hendrik and Louis are three siblings. Isabel lives in the old family home and, like her mother before her, is preoccupied with its possessions and the need to keep it preserved as it was. She worries about the maid stealing her family possessions – which turns out ultimately to be somewhat ironic! Hendrik is an uncomfortable gay man and Louis, who is the formal inheritor of the house, lives a wildlife in Amsterdam.

Isabel is the central character and she, like the house, is blocked and unable to move on in life. She is not a pleasant person! The plot changes when Louis parks his girlfriend Eva at the house while he is away. Isabel detests her presence and is constantly rude and unwelcoming while Eva slowly tries to break down the barriers between them.

Things happen. Isabel responds to Eva’s overtures in an unexpected way and the end of the story provides an unexpected backdrop to the whole of the novel. There’s something not quite satisfying in the way that everything that has developed is suddenly overturned by new information although, arguably, the hints were there earlier in the novel.

However, it is still a good read for the gradual unravelling of Isabel’s character and the revealing of the damage which all of the siblings have carried forward from the Second World War. It’s unexpected!