The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden “She had held a pear in her hand and she had eaten it skin and all. she had eaten the stem and she had eaten its seeds and she had eaten its core, and the hunger still sat in her like an open maw.” One of my favorite reads of the year. Like it often occurs, I started this book on the bus ride to work and was immediately drawn in by an unidentifiable shadowiness that cloaks the entire story. The main character Isabel’s voice felt eerily intimate—I slipped into her “I” effortlessly, as I often do when reading, taking on that character’s thoughts and perspectives, trying to root for her. I haven’t ever read a book like this with a voice like this. I’ve landed on saying it combines Ottessa Moshfegh’s antiheroes, Call Me By Your Name’s sensuality, Sally Rooney’s emotional depth, and Emerald Fennel’s blind corners, all riddled with suspense and despair. The novel focuses furiously on objects and the emotional weight they carry, exploring how the characters form their identities or uncover truths about themselves through their relationship with these items. My advice? Don’t read any blurbs or synopsis. Go in blind. Let the book surprise you.