Tiddo's marriage to Isa is in trouble. They have drifted apart. They don't make love anymore. Tiddo even finds their thirteen-year-old son, Jonathan, a stranger: is it simply that he is becoming a teenager, or is there something sinister behind the gruesome images Jonathan scratches in his notebook?
Desperate to keep his family together, Tiddo plans a holiday to Iceland, travelling the tourist circuit in a rented campervan. On their trip, they pick up a hitchhiker named Svein, who is tall, handsome and covered in tattoos of ancient runes. When Svein offers to guide them off the beaten track, Tiddo is conflicted. Does Svein pose a threat or offer salvation? Is there wisdom in his stories? What power do his tattoos hold?
This psychological thriller unfolds like a fever dream amid the breathtaking beauty of Iceland, but the environment turns out to be as unforgiving as each decision Tiddo makes. Taut and compelling, The Hitchhikeris the story of a man who goes to great lengths to save what he has already lost.
Gerwin van der Werfis a musicologist, teacher and regular columnist for the Dutch newspaper Trouw. His novel Wildwas longlisted for the Libris Literature Prize. The Hitchhiker (Een onbarmhartig pad)is his fourth novel.
David Colmerhas translated more than sixty works of Dutch literature and has won many prizes for his translations, including the Vondel Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the NSW Premier's Award.
