Set in the rural Dutch province of Overijssel in 1961, The Safekeeping follows Isabel (Isa), a solitary 28-year-old woman living in her late mother’s home—a house her family acquired during World War II under morally ambiguous circumstances. Isa’s life is governed by routine and a near-obsessive attachment to the house and its contents, which she believes are being tampered with or stolen. Her world is disrupted when her brother Louis asks her to host his new girlfriend, Eva, for the summer. Eva is Isa’s opposite: vibrant, curious, and socially bold. Initially repulsed by Eva’s presence and behavior, Isa’s feelings evolve into a complex obsession and eventually a romantic relationship. As the summer unfolds, tensions rise, secrets surface, and Isa’s grip on reality begins to unravel.
The novel explores themes of memory, identity, and the lingering shadows of the Holocaust. It reveals that the house Isa cherishes was once the home of a Jewish family forcibly removed during the war, adding layers of guilt and historical reckoning to Isa’s emotional journey. We discussed how the Dutch are blunt and forthright in their speach and this was apparent in the language used in the novel. How the children were 'unparented' and the consequence of this. The lack of position Isa had within the family - the consequence of being a girl, woman's place in society and their lack of agency.
Marks out of 10: between 8 and 9 so hightly marked.
Words used to describe it: interesting, frustrating, disturbing, haunting
Next Book
Without Reservation by Jeremy King
Next Meeting
Thursday 27th November
at
Anna's 49a Bronsart Road
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