Doris Bass Memorial Library & Book Club
Doris Bass, a beloved member of Israel Congregation, was a dedicated lover of books and literature. After a long career beginning in the Brooklyn Public Library and progressing to publishing, Doris moved to Vermont in 1996. Her passion for life was contagious and her passing has left us with a large hole in our lives. We have dedicated our extensive library in her memory. Today we are fortunate to have devoted congregants stewarding the library Doris championed.
The Doris Bass Library is currently overwhelmed with books that need to be catalogued and shelved with more coming in all the time and only two part time volunteers to do the work to sort through the donations. We deeply appreciate the huge effort our volunteers, are doing to accomplish this task having found some truly beautiful and special books among the donations received. We want to be able to continue to welcome the donation of engaging and educational books, but we need your help:
- Please box books or tie book donations—pre-approved by the library volunteers—with twine before dropping them off in the office, not in the library.
- If you would like your name or the name of your family member on a book plate in the book, please give us the pertinent information.
- Please consider making a donation to the Merkado Library Fund to help us in our work of making this a more user-friendly place for our congregation.
Thank You!
Join the Doris Bass Book Club!
Start your day off right with a good book. . .
On the 3rd Wednesday of each month participate in a lively and engaging conversation about
wonderful books of Jewish interest.
The next meeting of the Doris Bass Book Club is on Wednesday evening, May 21st at 7:00 pm.
Join the club as we meet via Zoom to discuss this month's title.
April/May Reading recommendation
and Book Club title:
The Safekeep
A house is a precious thing...
It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should be—led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabel’s doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.
Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—Isabel’s suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Eva—nor the house in which they live—are what they seem.
Mysterious, sophisticated, sensual, and infused with intrigue, atmosphere, and sex,
The Safekeep is “a brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one’s own desires” (The Guardian).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yael van der Wouden is a writer and a teacher.
The Safekeep, her debut novel, was a finalist for the 2024
Booker Prize
and has been longlisted for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize. It was also named a
New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a best book of the year by
The Washington Post,
Time,
The Economist,
Kirkus Reviews,
The Times (London),
The Independent,
BookPage, and others. She lives in Utrecht, Netherlands.
In Praise of The Safekeep:
“It is the only book I have read this year that has made me cry. . . . Van der Wouden has produced the rare novel about World War II, the Holocaust, and their aftermath that succeeds in feeling fully, intimately human. . . . [The plot] twist is not what makes The Safekeep
remarkable; what does is the extraordinary, emotional story Van der Wouden crafts around it, and the pitch-perfect voice she brings to the characters who experience its consequences.” —Talya Zax, The Washington Post
“Quietly remarkable. . . . Van der Wouden’s writing is fine and taut. She lasers in on details, and presents unsentimental and intrinsically powerful metaphors. . . . I would have liked this book in any case, just for the pleasure of reading it. But the story is resolved in such a bold and tender way that it becomes not merely clever, but indelible.” —Lori Soderlind, The New York Times Book Review
"A brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one’s own desires. . . . The tightly controlled narrative breaks open into a tale of erotic awakening, followed by an almighty twist. Anticipating that twist will not lessen its impact—fittingly enough for a novel in which everyone knows more than they can bear to admit. van der Wouden brings stunning power and control to her page-turner about trauma and repression." —The Guardian
"A razor-sharp, perfectly plotted debut novel. . . . This book is worth your time and your patience." —Sunday Times
"A compelling and atmospheric story of obsession and secrets. A novel that explores the things that are kept from us as children and the things we tell ourselves about our own hidden desires." —The Booker Prize Judges' citation
"By turns erotic, heartbreaking, and incandescent in its outrage on behalf of the invisible victims of a cataclysm that reverberated for decades after the peace treaties were signed, The Safekeep
packs an emotional wallop that is matched by its moral urgency.” —TIME, “100 Must-Read Books of the Year"
“A brilliantly executed twist elevates this love story into something much darker.” —The Times (UK), “The Best 12 Books of the Year"
"Unexpected and extraordinary." —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times
“A beautifully realized book, nearly perfect, as van der Wouden quietly explores the intricate nuances of resentment-hued sibling dynamics, the discovery of desire (and the simultaneous discovery of self), queer relationships at a time when they went unspoken, and the legacy of war and what it might mean to have been complicit in its horrors. . . . A brilliant debut, as multifaceted as a gem.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Hardcover, paperback and audio editions are available from the Northshire Bookstore
Or check out your local library!