An ethereal, haunting novel with a howl of screaming rage at its core, van der Wouden's extraordinary debut sees tensions between two women in early-60s rural Netherlands reach boiling point over the course of a sweltering summer.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024
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.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241652305
Number of pages: 272
Weight: 315 g
Dimensions: 205 x 140 x 22 mm
Surprising, chilling, and electric. The Safekeep is a simply fantastic work of literature. - Alice Winn, bestselling author of IN MEMORIAM
The Safekeep is a dream of a novel — mesmerizing and shockingly good — it lulls you with the lyrical beauty of its words and then slams you awake with its raw passion and rage. Part silent scream, part breathless love story - Miranda Cowley Heller, bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACE
Haunting and exquisitely poignant - Claire Fuller
Moving, unnerving and deeply sexy - Tracy Chevalier, author of GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
The story is resolved in such a bold and tender way that it becomes not merely clever, but indelible - New York Times
An impressive debut; I already look forward to Van der Wouden’s next - Guardian
The Safekeep is a beautiful book, highly charged, tense, shocking and heartbreaking in equal measure.…One of those rare books that feels as if it’s been there all along, waiting to be given a voice. And what a voice this is. - Rachel Joyce
[A] mesmerizing debut....A novel of redemption as much as revenge, The Safekeep has the pacing and twists of a thriller - Bookpage
Tantalizing... fans of Patricia Highsmith and Ottesa Moshfegh's Eileen will find much to admire here. - Vulture
An astonishingly skillful debut, The Safekeep manages the rare trick of being both gripping and intimate. A twisting, elegant, intriguing story about the secrets we hide in our homes and hearts - and how it only takes one person to unlock the past. - Joanna Quinn, bestselling author of THE WHALEBONE THEATRE
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this novel up with little knowledge of the premise but I loved this.
The sense of place in this novel underpins the whole tense narrative. Van Der Wouden definitely can...
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A tale of twisted family dynamics and the complexities of shame in histories both nationally and personally. This was a slow burner for me. I think I found it hard going at the start because none of the characters... More
A surprising and sensual novel that ripples with intrigue and paranoia. Slow-going to begin with, but picks up towards the middle when a POV shift makes a welcome difference. Van der Wouden presents a unique and... More
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