I like that this offers a less travelled (in fiction) view of the complicated aftermath of WW2 but I wish I could have felt the same passion for this book as other reviewers. I found the writing hard to parse as it feels foggy and a bit baggy, and I had guessed the Eva plot from early on. Still, it's a salutary reminder of how close the 1960s were to the end of the war with repercussions still reverberating through society.

(Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC!)

The description of The Safekeep caught my eye immediately while browsing, and I'm ever thankful it did. 1961, Isabel's brother's girlfriend, Eva, comes to stay for part of the summer. Isabel has always kept to herself, gone about life her own rigid way--Eva, her antithesis, is more than happy to disturb the perfectly curated quiet Isabel has lived in for years. But sharing a house, silences, and moments for weeks is bound to birth desire.

An absolutely brilliant piece of historical fiction, this novel held me in ways similar to Our Wives Under the Sea, another book I simply adored. Eva and Isabel's characters worked so well together (even when they weren't getting along), and the writing style was well-reflective of the personalities in the novel. I flew through this and became utterly immersed in the world Yael pieced together; closing the book was as satisfying as it was hard.

Cannot wait for more from this author, should we ever get it! One of my favourite reads of 2024.

I'm a sucker for a good historical romance and boy does this deliver!

It is gripping and unexpected, I really enjoyed the writing and the characters, I loved Isabel's character and I equally enjoyed Eva's.

I will definitely be picking up a physical copy.

[Thank you Netgalley, Penguin and the author for giving me an e-arc in exhange for an honest review]

Oh my God! This was a book that I will never be able to stop thinking about. It was devastating, beautiful and just so intriguing. You don't know what is going to happen and why there is this tension between the two women. During these devastating times, I think it's a powerful and important reminder of the horrors humans can commit. And how easy it is to turn a blind eye to it.

The Safekeep is set in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961 and primarily, revolves around two women, Isabel and her brother Louis’ girlfriend, Eva, who comes to stay with her.
This really is a book that you need to read for yourself, without anybody telling you what to expect/how the story plays out.
A truly stunning read and not what I was expecting!
An absolute contender for my top 10 of this year.

The Safekeeping really reminded me of a cross between Fingersmith and The Miniaturist, with a claustrophobic and intense setting, close lens on very few characters which you really got to imagine and be invested in. The reveal took me by surprise and it was a really moving, complex study of love and loss.

I don't want to say too much about the plot because I think it's best to read this one without spoilers. The synopsis tells us that it's the story of Isabel, living in her family's home in the Netherlands in the 60s. Her brother introduces his girlfriend Eva to them who ends up staying with Isabel for a while. Initially, their personalities totally clash.

The book is so beautifully written and I really enjoyed getting to know the different characters throughout the story. In the last part of the story, there is a twist and it flips the novel on its head. We get to see the full, complex motivations driving the characters and it's this twist that makes the novel. I'd absolutely recommend this.

4.5 ✨


could feel the chill coming off Isabel from all the way over here.
What a character she is, cold, rigid, stern..... so very very interesting.
This book was not what I expected at all, and I don't want to give spoilers, but there's a moment when it all turns on its head, and that moment feels perfect.
A real highlight of my recent reads.

This felt like a very special book - the setting was vivid and the characters were complex. I was utterly riveted the whole way through.

I especially loved the dialogue, and the way the author described mannerisms - it felt incredibly real and I could picture every moment, every conversation.

I think the best way to enjoy this book is just to go in blind and let it take you where it wants to go. Don’t read too much about the synopsis, and just dive in.

I did write a review but it’s not saved. Unfortunately, I am not going to write it again as it took quite a while!

i started reading this way back in november and then fell into a massive reading slump and didn’t touch it for a while. started again this year and honestly sorta loved it?

it’s beautiful in a slow way, elegant imagery and gentle, soft sentences that hold so much emotion, so much grief.

such complex, unhappy characters. i think the writing worked so well alongside the narrative and while it was usually abrupt and simple, it helped the story-telling in a way that allowed for emotion and an insight into characters personalities.

This is a book that you think is going to be one thing but it is so much more
Surprising and poignant whilst being set against the 1960s and all that the sixties brought
A house and two women
what it means to belong, be at home, find a home and feel at home.

In rural Holland, early in the 1960s, Isabel lives in a house to which her family moved during the war. She jealously guards all her mother's things, berating her maid if tasks are left undone. Into this lonely, arid existence comes Eva, the girlfriend of Isabel's older brother who has had to go abroad for a short time, and a tense and volatile relationship develops between the two women. Isabel, who is probably neurodiverse and is definitely repressed and vulnerable, finds anybody's presence threatening, and barely tolerable. She finds the young man who is courting her repellant, and has violent feelings towards Eva. But subtly, the atmosphere changes, there is a rapprochement between the two women which develops into something intense and passionate, and the repressed Isabel experiences an awakening of which she had never dreamt. In the final section of the book, we start to understand Eva's motivation and her reactions to Isabel and her family, and in particular to the house, which holds many secrets.

I highly recommend this masterful exploration of queerness and Jewishness, and the part played by history in the formation of our characters, both with and without our knowledge. It is an uncomfortable read at times, but full of sensitivity .

Reading this book was such a privilege. Isabel and Eva are such diverse characters with such rich history that ties in and educates so well about the real events of the time. Their romance is the house and the house is their romance. ‘There isn’t a version of me that could have looked away from you.’

I am grateful to Yael van der Wouden, Penguin General UK, and NetGalley for this opportunity.

This is a novel that showcases miraculous depth, specifically the layers of its characters. Time and dedication has been implented by the author to ensure that every person is a specimen, peeled back to reveal the personality and the subconscious. As for the protagonist, the reader moves beyond the layers of lies, anger, and ignorance, until we see the entirety. If a reader was to think that they know everything about a character after a few chapters, they would be wrong. Furthermore, the narrative slow-burn (not just lust-wise or romance-wise) is a huge motivator: the reader needs these characters to grow, develop, and forgive, to open their minds and embrace life with their hearts, because we have seen — in the case of the protagonist especially — their apparant flaws from the beginning. We are there every step of the way, even made into complicit collaborators at times. The prose is wonderful throughout, and as emotive as it is precise; it envelopes this sense of fluidity and, perhaps, inquisitiveness. There is also perfect balance, from the emotions of the characters that never feel excessive or lacking, to the plot that never seems rushed or stagnant. Overall, the atmosphere is suspenseful to the point of addictiveness.

Upon arriving in Part 3, after the ultimate reveal, everything makes sense. The reader is thrown back from the rest of the story to witness previous events, ultimately illuminating the truth. How much did the reader “see” these characters — truly? The items within the house as symbolism, combined with the history of the building, make it as important to the plot as everyone else.

To conclude, this is a stunning novel that I highly recommend. I don't think I read anything this year that accomplishes as much as The Safekeep, let alone the year before.

When does a guardian turn into a prisoner? In post-war Holland, Isabel becomes a kind of a custodian of her familial home. Her isolation is ruptured when her younger brother Louis installs his girlfriend Eva in the house. With Isabel being territorial and protective of the house and its memories, clashes between the two women are on the cards.
But is the girlfriend really as innocent as she looks and is her chance appearance really a random event?
Stiflingly close atmosphere with loads of awkward pauses, with none of the characters being particularly likeable and I did not care for the lengthy Lesbian soft porn section halfway through. Otherwise okay-ish.

What a remarkable book.

Parachuted straight into a scene that represents conventional, conservative Dutch family life in 1961, we meet adult siblings Isabel, Hendrik and Louis for another rare, awkward restaurant dinner together. There seems little love lost between any of them. Isabel, a buttoned up, controlling woman, Hendrik, the pragmatist and Louis, a womaniser, used to pleasing himself.

The atmosphere here and throughout the book is claustrophobic. It is so carefully crafted that I found my breathing altered whilst reading as it was viscerally stifling. Into this appears Eva, Louis' latest squeeze whose currency, in the latest of Louis' girlfriends invited to these gatherings, is to be provocative and "silly".

Eva, however, develops into the catalyst for revealing hidden/shrouded depths of character, politics and history. It is no coincidence that this novel spins on these siblings being the first post-war generation from the occupied Netherlands. It is no coincidence that the sexuality the book oozes would gain traction as the 1960s progressed, but not in the here and now of this particular story.

I found it completely a completely unexpected page turner. It has an abrasion that forces readers into examining the realities of the diaspora, divergent behaviour, patriarchal society and conventions. I found the writing, by a very deft hand, compulsive.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for allowing me to read for review

This was a slow burner for me. I think I found it hard going at the start because none of the characters seemed very nice and I always need someone to root for. At one point, as more was revealed I changed my mind about the two, main characters, Isabel and Eva and once I had connected with them, I couldn't put the book down. Atmospheric, clever, slightly sinister and unexpectedly beautiful. This is a little gem of a book. Brilliantly written and conceived. I went from meh to wow in no time.

I loved this unusual book! The characters were so well written, I felt like I had known them for years! Would highly recommend to anyone who loves reading about odd family dynamics

This is a brooding and powerful novel.
No spoilers !
Its energy and power creeps up slowly... the first part of the story introduces Isabel who has lived in the family home alone since her mother died and in many ways has trapped herself psychologically within the walls apart from seeing her brothers- has she taken on the role of the guardian of the house - to keep it safe and her memory of her mother. The sense of isolation and suppression of living is palpable and Isabel's anger and frustration to keep herself alone and protecting the house is disturbed by her bother's request to accommodate his girlfriend Eva whilst he is away on business. Isabel's life is soon to go into free fall as sense of foreboding is broken down into something much more unexpected
This is 1960s Netherlands and the repercussions of World War II are hidden beneath the surface; ignored, deliberately forgotten but the story of Isabel and Eva brings to light the greed of humanity and the ability to block or not recognise the reality and tragedies of the war- families lost everything and others capitalised on this.
The Safekeep is the story of a house; identity , belonging and the exploration of what 'home' means in relation to love and family.
The two main characters are beautifully realised and their damaged selves emanate off the page.
The final third of the book brings to life the hidden secrets and provides the shock.. How far would we go to get something back? What does ownership mean?
Yael van der Wouden has written a superb novel that will resonate far beyond the pages. We must never forget history and how the roots of events spread deep and wide. How close do we actually look at the truth about our family's past?