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The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

from $11.60
Hardcover:

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 be—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 house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—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 Eva—nor the house in which they live—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).

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 be—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 house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—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 Eva—nor the house in which they live—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).

  • Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster

    Title: The Safekeep

    Author: Yael van der Wouden

    On Sale Date: May 28, 2024

    ISBN 13: 978-1668034347

    ISBN 10: 1668034344

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $28.99

    BISAC: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Jewish

    Page Count: 272

    Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches

    Weight: 2.31 lbs

  • Yael van der Wouden is a Dutch writer and teacher who lectures in creative writing and comparative literature in the Netherlands. The Safekeep, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and went on to win the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction. She lives in Utrecht.

  • Critics and fellow bestselling authors are calling it indelible, unnerving, and razor-sharp:

    • "Remarkable…Compelling…Fine and taut…Indelible." —The New York Times

    • "Moving, unnerving, and deeply sexy." —Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

    • "A brilliant debut, as multi-faceted as a gem." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

    • "Razor-sharp, perfectly plotted." —The Sunday Times, London

This book is for you if

  • You want a Booker Prize-shortlisted, Women's Prize-winning novel that lives up to the hype.

  • You love a slow-simmering two-hander between women who can't stand each other — until they can't stay away.

  • You're drawn to WWII fiction that looks at the war's aftermath, not the war itself.

  • You want a twist that recontextualizes everything you thought you knew about the story.

  • You appreciate a sensual, literary voice — think Sarah Waters or Ottessa Moshfegh.

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