Book Club: Let's Talk About 'The Safekeep'

The Book Review

The New York Times

Books, Arts

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

MJ Franklin, who hosts the Book Review podcast’s monthly book club, says that whenever someone asks him, “What should I read next?,” Yael van der Wouden’s “The Safekeep” has become his go-to recommendation. So he was particularly excited to discuss the novel on this week’s episode. Set in the Netherlands in 1961, “The Safekeep” is one of those books it’s best not to know too much about, as part of its delight is discovering its secrets unspoiled.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Gilbert Cruz, editor of the New York Times book review, and this is the book review podcast.
0:13.0	This week, our monthly book club episode. M.J. Franklin and friends are here to discuss the safekeep by Yael van der Vaude. Here you go.
0:23.6	Hello and welcome to another book club episode of the book review podcast. I'm M.J. Franklin.
0:28.8	I'm an editor here at the New York Times Book Review and for this month's book review book club,
0:33.6	we're talking about the safe keep by Yael Vendervaldin.
0:44.5	The Safekeep came out last year, and I think it's safe to say it was one of the busiest books of 2024.
0:51.1	In addition to the excitement and critical acclaimant earned, it was also nominated for the 2024 Booker Prize,
0:53.3	with the Booker judges saying, quote,
0:58.4	The Safekeep draws us into a world as carefully calibrated as a Dutch still life.
1:02.7	We love this debut novel for its remarkable inhabitation of obsession.
1:08.0	It navigates an emotional landscape of loss and return in an unforgettable way.
1:11.4	But that's only part of why we chose the Safekeep as our May Book Club book. We also chose this just because personally, the Safekeep has grown into my
1:17.0	go-to book recommendation. And if it's a book that I keep recommending, it's a book that I
1:22.7	keep talking about, I think that makes a good book club book. Also, what's a book club without friends?
1:28.8	Joining me in the studio are two returning guests, Jumana Kutib, a fellow editor here at the
1:34.2	book review, a familiar voice in the book review podcast. Hi, Jumana. Hi, I'm Jay. I'm happy to be here.
1:39.8	Thank you for coming back. And Anna Dubenko is the New York Times Newsrooms audience director and a friend of
1:46.7	the book review. Welcome back. Thank you for having me. I've been begging to come back and talk about
1:52.4	this particular book. I am so excited to dig in. Before we dig in, though, I just have two admin
1:58.3	notes up top. One is that at the end of the episode, we will
2:01.9	reveal our June Book Club book, so stay with us until the end to find out what we're reading
2:05.8	next. And then second, there will be spoilers in this conversation. This is one where there
	...

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