Book of the Week: THE SAFEKEEP by Yael van der Wouden

“This unsettling, tightly-plotted debut novel explores repressed desire and historical amnesia against the backdrop of the Netherlands post-WWII. The Safekeep is at once a highly-charged, claustrophobic drama played out between two deeply flawed characters, and a bold, insightful exploration of the emotional aftermath of trauma and complicity.” —Judges’ citation on awarding The Safekeep the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
”Set in the early 1960s in the Netherlands in an isolated house, The Safekeep draws us into a world as carefully calibrated as a Dutch still-life. Every piece of crockery or silverware is accounted for here. Isa is the protagonist – a withdrawn figure who is safeguarding this inheritance. When her brother brings his new girlfriend Eva into this household the energy field changes as we sense boundaries of possession being crossed, other histories coming into the light. We loved this debut novel for its remarkable inhabitation of obsession. It navigates an emotional landscape of loss and return in an unforgettable way.” —Booker judges’ citation on short-listing the book for the 2024 Booker Prize.

• Read the first few pages.

• Standing on the shoulders.

• Counting teaspoons.

• Excusing herself.

• Two women and one house.

• A reckoning.

• On (not) reading Anne Frank.

• Me/not me.

• Root canals are preventable.

• Wanting to touch everything.

• Displacement, complicity and obsession.

• A reading guide.

• Forgiven.

• Into the mud.

• Dear David.

• Thank you, sorry and goodbye.