The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden

 

Isabel lives in the same house she and her uncle bought and her family moved to during the war.  It is located in a rural Dutch province .  Her two brothers, Hendrik and Louis. moved out as soon as they were adults but Isabel stayed behind to nurse her mother through her final illness.  Now it is 1961 and Isabel is thirty.  She is considered bitter and unwelcoming to all.  She has one maid whom she constantly suspects of stealing small things in the house.  There is a local suitor but Isabel is not interested.  Her only social life is occasional visits to and from her brothers.

At one dinner they all go to, Louis brings his latest girlfriend.  There are a series of these women and Louis always declares himself madly in love.  This one is named Eva and she is gauche and a bit loud.  Isabel and Hendrik make fun of her behind her back.  Then Louis brings Eva to stay at the house which the uncle plans to leave to Louis.  He is going to be working out of town and he wants Eva to stay with Isabel.

Isabel is mortified.  She can't imagine her structured life interrupted by such a woman.  Eva sleeps late, makes messes wherever she is and talks constantly.  Isabel is unwelcoming and often refuses to speak to her all day.  Eventually, the two make an uneasy truce although Isabel again suspects that things are missing in the house.  Now she has two suspects.  As time goes on, Isabel and Eva start to be attracted to each other and then fall madly in love.  It is Isabel's first sexual encounter and she could never have imagined the force of such an event.  Eventually, long buried secrets start to emerge and the truth about the relationship is revealed.

Yael Van Der Wouden is a Dutch-Israeli author.  This is a debut novel and it is amazing, widely anticipated and bid on by many publishing houses.  I will be shocked if it isn't included on either the Booker or International Booker lists.  It is a quiet book that then rises up to explore sexuality and the power of hidden secrets in an explosive twist.  This book is highly recommended for literary fiction readers.