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A review by fleeno
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
5.0
It's 1961 and Isabel is living in the Dutch countryside in the house her uncle purchased for her family. Her mother is dead and her brothers have left, so it is just her, knocking around the house, counting the spoons, convinced the maid is stealing from her. When her womanising brother Louis introduces her and their brother Heinrich to his new love Eva, Isabel doesn't bother to hide her distain. Louis has a habit of falling both in and out of love very quickly. But when an assignment sends him overseas he installs Eva in the house, telling Isabel to be nice. Eva is the antithesis of Isabel, warm, friendly, she sleeps late and is messy. Soon Isabel is going mad, counting all their cutlery, certain things are going missing, even more certain Eva is here with a nefarious purpose to kick her out of her own home.
This is such a near perfect book, it is absolutely brilliant. In such a short book Van der Wouden is able to clearly portray such fully realised characters. Isabel is stern, uptight, anxious, what initially comes across as mean - "even honey couldn't sweeten that vinegar" one character comments - is actually nervousness and uncertainty. Louis is womanising and fickle, Heinrich is kind and funny, a 'confirmed bachelor', who lives with his 'good friend' Sebastian. Eva is the opposite of Isabel, although initially fun and lively, it becomes clear she is hiding secrets. While the relationship between Isabel and Eva, and their subsequent character development is the core of the story, this is also an exploration of post war Netherlands, as Van der Wouden focuses on the quiet denial of recent history and self-justifications in the aftermath of the Holocaust. This is a story about lies that individuals, families, and nations tell themselves, some lies are made consciously, and others live lies concealing the truth even from themselves. Considering the topics of the book - the holocaust, unrequited love, gay romance in an unaccepting time - The Safekeep isn't a dark book (in fact some chapters are quite spicy). Isabel is a fairly unsympathetic character in the begining but by the end I felt for her and her sad little life, and it has quite a hopeful ending, showing the bonds we create with others can change us for the better. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, it was such a marvellous read.
This is such a near perfect book, it is absolutely brilliant. In such a short book Van der Wouden is able to clearly portray such fully realised characters. Isabel is stern, uptight, anxious, what initially comes across as mean - "even honey couldn't sweeten that vinegar" one character comments - is actually nervousness and uncertainty. Louis is womanising and fickle, Heinrich is kind and funny, a 'confirmed bachelor', who lives with his 'good friend' Sebastian. Eva is the opposite of Isabel, although initially fun and lively, it becomes clear she is hiding secrets. While the relationship between Isabel and Eva, and their subsequent character development is the core of the story, this is also an exploration of post war Netherlands, as Van der Wouden focuses on the quiet denial of recent history and self-justifications in the aftermath of the Holocaust. This is a story about lies that individuals, families, and nations tell themselves, some lies are made consciously, and others live lies concealing the truth even from themselves. Considering the topics of the book - the holocaust, unrequited love, gay romance in an unaccepting time - The Safekeep isn't a dark book (in fact some chapters are quite spicy). Isabel is a fairly unsympathetic character in the begining but by the end I felt for her and her sad little life, and it has quite a hopeful ending, showing the bonds we create with others can change us for the better. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, it was such a marvellous read.