Foreword

Rink van der Velde was born in Friesland, a province of The Netherlands, in 1932. By profession a journalist, he has especially established himself as a first-rate storyteller among Frisian prose writers. His novels and short stories frequently feature a sociocritical dimension and attract a large readership. Critics have acclaimed The Trap as perhaps his best accomplishment among the more than twenty novels and numerous collections of short stories he has written since 1960. The author received the Gysbert Japiks prize in 1975, the most distinguished literary prize awarded by the Province of Friesland.

The Trap, a short war novel based on a real incident, tells the story, with utter economy, of a Frisian fisherman whose cottage on the lake becomes a refuge for those who need a hiding place. One day his only son is caught by the Germans, and the fisherman must make a choice. It is a searing and memorable tale, a classic tragedy that celebrates human courage and dignity in the face of defeat.

As have many of van der Velde’s novels, The Trap has been translated into Dutch; it has also been translated into Ukrainian. The stage version of the novel has over the years enjoyed frequent performances and enthusiastic receptions. It is especially appropriate that fifty-two years after liberation this novel makes a new appearance, both in its revised version in Frisian and Dutch, and in its first translation into English.