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The Safekeep

By Yael Van Der Wouden
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Brief Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION WINNER OF THE 2025 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION Shortlisted for the 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize and Aspen Words Literary Prize - A Best Book of 2024: The New York Times,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5100

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"It is fifteen years after the Second World WAr, and Isabel has buit a solitary life of discipline and strict routine in her late mother's country home, with not a fork or a word out of place. 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."--Page 4 of cove

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION

WINNER OF THE 2025 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

Shortlisted for the 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize and Aspen Words Literary Prize - A Best Book of 2024: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Time, The Economist, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Kirkus Reviews, The Independent, BookPage, The Sunday Times (London)

"Remarkable...Compelling...Fine and taut...Indelible." --The New York Times

"Moving, unnerving, and deeply sexy." --Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with the Pearl Earring

"A brilliant debut, as multi-faceted as a gem." --Kirkus Reviews

A "razor-sharp, perfectly plotted" (The Sunday Times, London) tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961--a powerful exploration of the legacy of WWII and the darker parts of our collective past.

A house is a precious thing...

It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother's country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should beβ€”led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabel's doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.

Eva is Isabel's antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn't. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the houseβ€”a spoon, a knife, a bowlβ€”Isabel's suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel's paranoia gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Evaβ€”nor the house in which they liveβ€”are what they seem.

Mysterious, sophisticated, sensual, and infused with intrigue, atmosphere, and sex, The Safekeep is "a brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one's own desires" (The Guardian).

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781668034354

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 May 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Avid Reader Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 142.0mm

Height: 212.0mm

Weight: 236g

Pages: 288

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction Yael van der Wouden Yael Van Der Wouden

About the Author

Yael van der Wouden is a writer and a teacher. The Safekeep, her debut novel, was a finalist for the 2024 Booker Prize and has been longlisted for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize. It was also named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a best book of the year by The Washington Post, Time, The Economist, Kirkus Reviews, The Times (London), The Independent, BookPage, and others. She lives in Utrecht, Netherlands.

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