October 9, 2024

THE SAFEKEEP by Yael der Wouden

Publication Date: May 28, 2024

Print Length: 271 pages

Long listed for the 2024 Booker Prize

SYNOPSIS

In The Safekeep, a novel set in the 1960s in Amsterdam, Isabel, a lonely spinster, lives in seclusion until her brother’s fiancée, Eva, comes to share the house that Isabel’s family has occupied since World War II.

As the relationship between Isabel and Eva deepens, the wartime secrets hidden in the house become revealed. In this fast-paced novel, long listed for the Booker Prize, Wouden describes how ghosts from World War II continue to haunt families decades later.

REVIEWS AND AUTHOR INFORMATION

Soderlind, Lori, “An erotic story of love and obsession in 1960s Amsterdam.” The New York Times, May 25, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/25/books/review/safekeep-yael-van-der-wouden.html.

Seiffert, Rachel, “The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden review – the Dutch house.” The Guardian. May 25, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/25/the-safekeep-by-yael-van-der-wouden-review-the-dutch-house.

Pages of Julia,”Maximum Shelf author interview: Yael van der Wouden.” February 16, 2024. Pages of Julia. https://pagesofjulia.com/2024/02/16/maximum-shelf-author-interview-yael-van-der-wouden/

Young, Nicole, “Yael van der Wouden on displacement, complicity and obsession in The Safekeep.” Elle, May 29, 2024. https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a60938010/yael-van-der-wouden-the-safekeep-interview/.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • What does the concept of home mean for Isabel and Eva? How much of our concept of home is connected to a place?

  • In what ways does the house at the center of the story embody the wartime legacy that persists in The Netherlands generations later?

  • What is the symbolism behind the book’s title, The Safekeep, and how does this symbolism change as the narrative unfolds?

  • How does Isabel’s evolving relationship with Eva allow her to gain a deepening understanding that the past she is trying to preserve belongs to someone else?

Leave A Comment

Every month I offer a Book Club suggestion that highlights authors who write about their family history and explore themes of identity.
If you have books you would like to recommend, contact me at: kaia@kaiagallagher.com


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