First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

It’s been fifteen years since the Second World War and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb crates have been filled, buildings reconstructed and the conflict is well and truly over. Alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel lives her life as it should be: led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel’s doorstep, as a guest – there to stay for the season…

Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, wakes late, walks loudly through the house and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fuelled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house – a spoon, a knife, a bowl – Isabel’s suspicions spiral out of control. In the sweltering heat of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to desire, leading to a discovery that unravels all she has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Eva nor the house are what they seem.

Happy Friday everyone! We have managed to sail through another workweek. I am glad we were able to make it through it. I hope everyone is ending the work week on a high note and that you were able to accomplish all your tasks for the week. Here’s a pat on the back for a job well done. It is now time to dress down and party. It is time to dive into the weekend! And just like that, we are more than halfway through the tenth month of the year. In a couple of weeks, we will be welcoming a new year. Before the year ends, I hope you achieve all your goals this year. I hope your hard work gets recognized and repaid. I hope the remainder of the year will be brimming with good news, blessings, and pleasant surprises. More importantly, I hope everyone will be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

To cap the blogging week, I am sharing a fresh First Impression Friday update, a weekly meme that has grown on me. It has become an integral part of my weekly blogging rites. It originally was a space to figure out my initial feelings about the book I am reading but, over time, it developed into a springboard for my book reviews. For this month, my reading journey is a mixed bag. It started as a foray into the works of Nobel Laureates in Literature; again, congratulations to Han Kang for a well-deserved accolade. I read four works by Nobel Laureates in Literature – including Orhan Pamuk’s The Black Book which is part of my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge – before I started a pivot toward Booker Prize-shortlisted books. I recently received my copies of two books from the shortlist while I still have three in-transit; I have already read Percival Everett’s James.

I am currently reading Yael Van Der Wouden’s The Safekeep, the second book from this year’s Booker Prize shortlist – and fourth from the longlist – I read. Before this year, I have not heard of the Dutch writer. Apparently, The Safekeep is her debut novel; it is one of three debut novels in the longlist and the only one in the shortlist. The Safekeep transports us to 1960s rural The Netherlands, particularly to the province of Overijssel. The novel’s main action takes place in a large stately home occupied by one woman named Isabel. She inherited it from her mother who passed away years before. She looks after the house, ensuring that its lawns are well-manicured, all her family’s things are kept in immaculate condition, and that none of the things she inherited are stolen. Her life was anchored on routine and the mundane. Nevertheless, she finds solace and comfort in the uneventfulness of routine.

Isabel also had two brothers: Louis and Hendrik. She is closer to her brother Hendrik so when Louis suddenly popped out of nowhere, bringing along with him his girlfriend Eva – his latest in a string of girlfriends – Isabel was perplexed and even appalled. Appalled turned into horror when Louis left Eva in his sister’s company for the summer season. Louis, on the other hand, had to go out-of-town for business. What Isabel did not expect was Eva’s irreverent nature. Eva slept in their mother’s bed. Isabel held the room sacrosanct and kept anyone from sleeping there. But Eva was tenacious, throwing Isabel’s well-curated life into a tailspin. They were palpably the antithesis of each other. Eva was pushing Isabel’s buttons, placing frown marks on the usually composed mistress of the house.

It seems that I am getting van der Wouden’s drift. I think have mapped how the story is going to unfold. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the end, Eva would loosen up the uptight Isabel. Eva is going to be a catalyst of some sort. She will not only loosen up Isabel but introduce her to new worlds beyond her imagination. There is already homosexual overtones; Hendrik was in a relationship with his friend Sebastian although they try to obscure it. Hiding their sexual nature of their relationship might be an offshoot of the period’s attitude toward homosexuality. This makes things interesting for Eva and Isabel. Is Eva more than just a catalyst? I am guessing there is going to be more into their relationship.

For now, I am just going to sit back and enjoy the story. The story was complemented by Van der Wouden’s writing which is accessible and atmospheric. She is obviously a skilled writer. I can’t wait to see how she is going to spin the tail and what I perceive is Isabel’s romantic and perhaps sexual awakening. The book is rather a quick read so I am looking at completing it over the weekend. How about you fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!