Comments on: The Safekeep

By: Anne Sarzin

Anne Sarzin — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 02:22:18 +0000

As a novel, it is, primarily, a work of imagination.

By: Anne Sarzin

Anne Sarzin — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 02:19:51 +0000

Reply from Anne Sarzin
What an insightful comment.
In this particular review of The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, I wanted to alert readers to the sex scenes, so that they’re aware of the novel’s content and can make their own choices, should they wish to do so. In my opinion, there is a divide between reading about human sexuality in a novel and reading about our Holocaust history. Why do we voluntarily consume these lacerating Holocaust texts and analysis that weigh so heavily on our minds and hearts? Perhaps it’s because they enable us to bear witness, to honour our martyrs and acquire important knowledge so crucial to our awareness of and interventions against contemporary antisemitism. This literary genre represents for me a different level of engagement and commitment. However, I understand that the field of human sexuality is extremely diverse and complex and comes with its many salutary challenges to the reader’s comprehension, sensitivity and, in some cases, innate conservatism, and I will certainly give more thought to the interesting idea you have raised.. Thank you Liat!

By: Lynne Newington

Lynne Newington — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 10:53:37 +0000

There wasn’t enough content to make it non-fictional?

By: Liat Kirby

Liat Kirby — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 04:23:29 +0000

I love Anne Sarzin’s book reviews. I think perhaps one shouldn’t offer readers the option of avoiding reading any part of a book, in this case particularly erotic scenes. If sensitive readers can face the horrors of the Holocaust and its collaborators, they should be able to stomach sex scenes, most especially as they are not gratuitous. That said, Anne Sarzin’s reviews are highly professional, speaking as they do not only to content but also to the architecture of a book and the means by which an author achieves what she does within that construction. Thank you, Anne.