Karen
This book has one of the most unpleasant, unhappy protagonists I have ever encountered. Isabel is the middle child in a family that moved from Amsterdam to a rural area of Holland for safety during World War II, to a house procured for them by Uncle Karl. Isabel, now in her early 30's, is the only one who still lives there, and she guards the house and its contents fiercely, firing her hired maids when she suspects them of stealing silverware or other small items. Although Isabel is the sibling with the strongest attachment to the house, it's understood that the house belongs to Louis, and if he decides to take possession (to raise a family), Isabel will have to find somewhere else to live. So far this has not been an issue, because Louis is a womanizer who shows no inclination to settle down, but it lives in the background of Isabel's consciousness. Things come to a head when Louis brings a new girlfriend, Eva, to stay at the house while he's away on a business trip. She presses all of Isabel's buttons, and Isabel makes herself as unpleasant as possible. Meanwhile, some hidden truths about the house and Eva start to come to the surface.
Although Isabel is painfully unpleasant, we know enough about her background to understand a little bit about why she is that way. She's aware of some anomalies in her life, although she isn't able to resolve them on her own--maybe isn't quite aware that they need resolving, until her life blows up. I thought this situation was built very beautifully. Her two clueless brothers (clueless in different ways) just want her to relax, maybe get married to Johan, the neighbor who has shown some interest in her, and not take everything so seriously.
The family situation has some parallels with the post-Holocaust environment of 1961 Netherlands. Although the war is over, the reckoning is not. The majority of the country would like to move on and live a "normal" life, but it's not possible until the murder and displacement of the Dutch Jewish population in the Holocaust is addressed.
This book has one of the most unpleasant, unhappy protagonists I have ever encountered. Isabel is the middle child in a family that moved from Amsterdam to a rural area of Holland for safety during World War II, to a house procured for them by Uncle Karl. Isabel, now in her early 30's, is the only one who still lives there, and she guards the house and its contents fiercely, firing her hired maids when she suspects them of stealing silverware or other small items. Although Isabel is the sibling with the strongest attachment to the house, it's understood that the house belongs to Louis, and if he decides to take possession (to raise a family), Isabel will have to find somewhere else to live. So far this has not been an issue, because Louis is a womanizer who shows no inclination to settle down, but it lives in the background of Isabel's consciousness. Things come to a head when Louis brings a new girlfriend, Eva, to stay at the house while he's away on a business trip. She presses all of Isabel's buttons, and Isabel makes herself as unpleasant as possible. Meanwhile, some hidden truths about the house and Eva start to come to the surface.
Although Isabel is painfully unpleasant, we know enough about her background to understand a little bit about why she is that way. She's aware of some anomalies in her life, although she isn't able to resolve them on her own--maybe isn't quite aware that they need resolving, until her life blows up. I thought this situation was built very beautifully. Her two clueless brothers (clueless in different ways) just want her to relax, maybe get married to Johan, the neighbor who has shown some interest in her, and not take everything so seriously.
The family situation has some parallels with the post-Holocaust environment of 1961 Netherlands. Although the war is over, the reckoning is not. The majority of the country would like to move on and live a "normal" life, but it's not possible until the murder and displacement of the Dutch Jewish population in the Holocaust is addressed.