Have you ever experienced the dread of introducing your new partner to the family?
The Safekeep, the exquisite debut novel by Yael van der Wouden, opens with a dinner party from hell. It's here that Isabel, the novel's spiky protagonist, meets her brother Louis's girlfriend Eva for the first time – and the tension is palpable.
Isabel detests everything about Eva - she's uncouth, loud, talkative, wild and naïve.
She's the exact opposite of Isabel: cold, rigid, uptight and unforgiving. Isabel is an unmarried woman who lives alone in her family's house in the Dutch countryside, 15 years after the end of World War II. She's the kind of woman who fanatically cleans her dead mother's cutlery and terrorises her maid to ward off the loneliness.
Following their disastrous first meeting, Isabel later apologises to Eva for being dismissive and rude. "But you will be gone soon," she says matter-of-factly. "He will be bored of you, and I will never hear of you again."
It turns out Isabel has spoken far too soon.
Her tightly-controlled world is upended when Louis delivers Eva to her doorstep and asks if she can look after her for the summer as a guest.
So begins the central set piece of The Safekeep, an historical fiction novel about obsession, desire and post-War generational trauma.
van der Wouden keeps the tension humming throughout the novel.
At first, Isabel manages to keep her hatred of Eva in check. But before long, her hatred spills into an obsession and she follows her around the house. Things reach a boiling point when her mother's possessions mysteriously start disappearing. Is Eva to blame?
The Safekeep is a gorgeous novel. Each sentence is beautifully written and considered – a real pleasure to read. I found myself re-reading sentences multiple times.
Van der Wouden explores Isabel's sexual awakening with sensitivity and tenderness and transforms an essentially unlikable character into someone who is vulnerable, sympathetic and three-dimensional. She also gives depth to Eva, who is much more than a party girl: you can feel her anger rising off the pages.
Central to the story is van der Wouden's exploration of the Jewish experience in the Netherlands after the war and how secrecy and lies shaped domestic life for generations. It's a period of history that I knew little about, and it is important reading.
The Safekeep was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024 and was the winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2025. It's an incredible novel.