1961, Dutch province of Overijssel.
Isabel lives by herself in her mother's house. She spends her time maintaining the house and garden, and managing the maid who comes in the daytime. By all accounts she is lonely and closed off.
When she is coaxed to have dinner with her two brothers in the city, her brother Louis arrives with his latest girlfriend. Eva is the opposite of Isabel, and Isabel dislikes her on sight.
A few weeks later, when Louis have to travel for work, he show up at the house (which he technically owns) with Eva in tow. Eva is to stay with Isabel for a few weeks.
What follows is a rough push and pull as they get to know more about each other. Using flashbacks, Van der Wouden explores what happened to each of their families in the war - an how they are tied together.
The Safekeep is on the long list for the 2024 Man Booker Prize, quite deservedly. If the only book you have read about the Dutch in WWII is the Diary of Anne Frank, this will be a surprise! Read it today.
Van der Wouden, Yael. (2024). The Safekeep. New York: Avid Reader Press.
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