Welcome to Litsy!

This book was loved by so many friends last year that I didnt think it could live up to the hype. Well it more than did that. I‘ll be surprised if this isnt the best book i read this year. Glorious writing and complex characters, a sprawling old house and a spiralling tension. I thought it was PERFECT.

4/5 🌟

Atmospheric, intriguing and a solid debut novel.

This debut novel was beautifully written about the quieter wrongs that took place in Holland affecting Jews during WWII and how long after those wrongs could not wholly be corrected.

Really ??? This was shortlisted for the women‘s prize ? I bought it after listening to a book tuber comparing the authors writing to Sarah waters. Sorry no ! First half is just boring , admittedly it does pick up and has a great twist at the end but sadly not worthy of more stars from me !

I did not know much about this book going in. It was not at all what I expected, but I loved it.

This week was easy. I loved this book.

@Read4life #WeeklyFavorites

Beautiful.

#AuldLangSpine @JamieArc @monalyisha
This was intense! This story of a woman grudgingly agreeing to take in her brother's girlfriend while he is away for a month is a unique blend of anxiety and passion. It explores what happens when personal space is violated both willingly and unwillingly. The descriptions of touches, racing thoughts/pulses, and other visceral sensations had a totally immersive effect: I often forgot I was reading a book.

Almost a bail: for the first 2 parts very little happened (except for some very steamy scenes) with characters I disliked. But then, the house! If you‘ve read the blurb about the book, you know it‘s the house that is the story. Just keep that in mind if you read the book and that it‘s set in 1961. It took my breath away when it all comes together—such a tearjerker. The house, the house, the house. #Netherlands #foodandlit

Here‘s my next audiobook! #foodandlit #Netherlands @Catsandbooks

12-3 Jan 25 (audiobook)
I knew nothing other than this was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker and acclaimed by other readers before starting this debut novel. Set in 1960s Netherlands, it is a story of repression, silence and complicity. I did see the ‘twist‘ coming quite early on but don‘t feel that spoiled it in any way.
Reparation is a topic that interests me greatly. So much of what we have was taken from someone else.

I thought this was one thing, then it wasn‘t, then it was again but in a completely different way. That probably doesn‘t make sense if you haven‘t read it but I don‘t want to spoil it for you. #FoodAndLit #Netherlands

A pick but with some “buts”. I loved chapter 6. I loved part III with Eva‘s journal that connected the book nicely for me. But a lot of the times I felt a bit distanced from it. I don‘t know how to express it any better than that.

This book is terrific! It tells the story of three siblings and the strange girl who enters their lives. Who is she and what is she doing in the midst of their lives? This is one of those books that makes you think, a feature I find to be few and far between. I did not see what was coming which made the story all the much better. Amazing character development and a twist. Highly recommend.

Currently reading 2 books with moody green covers. Have been noticing the use of green instead of blue that was everywhere a number of years ago.

Well, well, well— I finally see what you‘ve all been talking about here with The Safekeep. And I must say, for a majority of the book I did not, but then BAM, I was hooked. What a surprising and beautiful book with a setting perfect for the story. Unforgettable characters: Isabell, sister to two brothers who are left to reside in a provincial home after their mother‘s death. One of her brothers brings home a girl which changes everything.

#12Booksof2024 November

Honorable mentions:
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
Monsters: What Do We Do With Great Art by Bad People? By Claire Dederer

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65
Picks for Sept - a new series to me, and after enjoying the first, I went on to read bk 2 and 3 fairly quickly. Set in dungeness and the Kent area, they are page turner's.
October is the safekeep and probably a very popular choice, which I wouldn't have read save for it being on the booker shortlist.

#12Booksof2024 August

The Safekeep is just so so good. Beautifully crafted, masterful build of tension, so much left to think about.

@Andrew65

My Christmas gift to myself was to finish this in a day😁
Loved it, very well written and I was hoping for that ending.

Hoping for a quiet hour reading 🤞🏻🤞🏻

This one was a surprise and yet, I find myself wondering about my preference to know little about plot or theme when I begin a book. I admit, I was getting irritated- extremely irritated- with Isabelle. I still don‘t ‘get‘ her, but then she didn‘t really ‘get‘ herself. Many thoughts, thoughts that aren‘t landing. 🛬
Making a Chocolate 🍫 Pear 🍐 Pie today. #Dec2024 Book113

Starting now. #ToBlongList 🎧🍐

Definitely one of the best books I've read this year. The plot veers into a completely different path than I could have predicted - amazing writing! Reminded me of Trust by Hernan Diaz. Their plots are dissimilar, but the way the story is woven together is so clever.

Oh, this was seriously good! It's a powerful story on a subject I don't recall reading about before. I very much enjoyed the characterisation of Isabel and Eva and, oh my, the tension generated throughout as it becomes clear what is actually going on here. Actually I think it would have been my personal #bookerprize winner, were it not for the generous amount of 🌶️ , which i just don't like.

I completely understand why this book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. This debut novel is a slow burn, but around 2/3 of the way through it, a twist completely turns the reader's understanding of the characters upside down. This book is intimate and sensual and gives a new sweeping perspective on the effects of WWII after the fighting ended. This debut novel deserves all of the accolades.

I saw that this was on the Booker Prize list and just grabbed it without really knowing anything about it, which turned out to be a great thing. This took a minute to get rolling, but then I could not put it down. There‘s so much tension that drives the story - I was just really invested to see where it was headed. The relationships are complex and interesting and the novel takes a few surprising turns. A marvelous debut.

#BookReport

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I read Dyr som er verre foreldre enn deg (trans. Animals that are Worse Patents than You) and The Safekeep

I‘m almost done with The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues

I‘m reusing last week‘s picture since The Safekeep has been returned to the library, so I didn‘t get to Orbital, but hopefully later today

The Netherlands 1961, 3 siblings. The oldest Louis changes girlfriends all the time. Isabel living alone in the family home. The youngest Hendrik lives with a man

After meeting Louis latest girlfriend, Louis suddenly tales Isabel that Eva will be staying in the family home while he‘s away. Isabel doesn‘t approve of this plan

A book about the consequences of war, memory and the truth

This book pulled me in and wouldn‘t let go until I finished it

So glad I prioritized The Safekeep as one of my #10BeforeTheEnd because it might be one of my top reads of the year, I really loved it.

2 down, 8 to go. Got to pick it up!

Oh my goodness. This is fantastic. I don't read many books around WWII and I am glad this one is written by a Jewish author, between that and the hype around the Booker I knew this would be a solid read but it was so much more. The tension and the evolution of the characters and story are masterfully done.
I am going to be thinking about this for a very long time.

#WeeklyForecast

Continue Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I want to start Dyr som er verre foreldre enn deg (trans. Animals that are Worse Parents than You)

I want to read The Safekeep and The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues

Maybe I can even get a start on Orbital

This may be my favourite of the booker shortlist so far (3 read) and was an intricate story of two women in 1961 Netherlands. Isabel lives on her own in the house her family moved into during the war, but her life is impacted when her older br leaves his girlfriend staying there while he works away. Ava is a dizzy, vibrant woman who grates on isabel. As the plot reveals itself as a reader, I was absorbed and ultimately moved by what was revealed

This might be my second-favorite novel on the Booker Prize shortlist so far (I still have one more to go). The style and the slow evolution of intense emotions really work for me, and the audiobook narration fits the content very well.

Unpopular opinion 😏

I appreciated the unconventional mystery plot device, but the writing style wasn‘t for me. Too many words to the point of repetition & overwrought emotion. At times I was thinking “get on with it already”…..It reinforces my admiration for the power of effective spare writing.

As opposed to The Birthday Party which was MADDENING in thrilling anticipation of the climax, being akin to a movie in slow motion. 😵 👍🏾

It‘s rare that multiple times within a book I think that it‘s not what I expected. And that‘s what happened here, in the best way. I liked how I learned different things as I moved through the story. And while there is brief explicit sex, I‘m a little surprised anyone has mentioned it, as I‘m not a fan of explicit sex in books, but it serves the story so well here that I works. (I wonder if it‘s the type of sex that is a problem for some.)

So I wasn‘t sure about this story and several times almost stopped reading it. BUT for some unknown reason I kept reading it. I‘m so glad I did. What a beautiful but chilling story.

https://youtu.be/7YtuMpg5BE4?si=h4RJavp0F3eFXIcv

Introduction

Mystery guest

Weekly highlights

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Ivy's Tree by Wendy Burton

Animal Person by Alexander MacLeod

#WeeklyFavorite

@Read4life

I have spent some time trying to figure out why I loved this less than everyone else seems to and haven‘t come to much of a conclusion. I liked the beginning with all of its fraught anxiety much more than I did the part after the revelation in the third act (which was not really much of a surprise). I liked it but I expected it be my new favorite from the Booker shortlist and it didn‘t live up to that for me. Still a pick.

This book blew my mind! So incredibly good. ♥️ The unexpected turns, the almost unbearable tension at times, the sheer beauty of the story. I haven‘t read the full shortlist but would be very pleased to see this book take the prize.

.

I was convinced James would win the Booker. Then I read this....

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Thanks for the tag! @Mitch

1. The tagged book will be on my favourite list for 2024 as well as just for August.

2. I prefer paper books, but read all three types - they all have their place!

3. Probably literary fiction.

#wondrouswednesday

Booker Shortlist is here! Who's got thoughts?

I'm so happy to see The Safekeep here, as soon as deWaal started talking about it I knew which book he was talking about and cheered!

I bailed on Orbital and Creation Lake, so of course they're both here. Maybe I'll try them again. And maybe I'll finally give held a shot.

James was expected.

Stone Yard Devotional I need to order from Blackwells because who knows when it's coming out in Canada.

So, I liked Isabel. I liked how every other character revealed themselves responding to her challenging chilled persona. I didn‘t mind the sex. But i didn‘t like the gimmick. So, again, so-so.

#booker #booker2024 #longlist

#BookerPrize

The first third was fine but I wasn‘t convinced that it would turn into something remarkable. Glad I stuck with it because it surprised me. I won‘t say more except read it.

That makes 6 read with 2 started and paused. I‘ll go back to them if they get shortlisted. Waiting on Wild Houses hold and my copy of Stone Yard to arrive. Didn‘t get as far into the longlist as I wanted but looking forward to tomorrow‘s announcement.

I have a theory that readers from continental Europe, unless they are quite young, clock the plot twist/part 3 reveal already in the first chapter. But I quite enjoyed it even though I spent the first half of the book frustrated with the MC. 😂 She was a thoroughly unlikeable character, and I loved getting to know why she was that way. Unlike some, I really liked the ending. I hope this gets shortlisted.
#Booker