The Hitchhiker

Description

Set against the eerie and unforgiving landscape of Iceland, The Hitchhiker is a tense and suffocating thriller by a prolific Dutch writer Believe it or not, I was convinced this holiday would save my marriage. Tiddo and his wife, Isa, have drifted apart. They don't make love anymore. Tiddo even finds their thirteen-year-old son, Jonathan, a stranger-quiet, distant and forever drawing monstrous creatures in his sketchbook. 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 and 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? 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 Hitchhiker is the story of a man who goes to great lengths to save what he has already lost.

Gerwin van der Werf is a musicologist, teacher and regular columnist for the Dutch newspaper Trouw. His novel Wild was longlisted for the Libris Literature Prize. The Hitchhiker (Een onbarmhartig pad) is his fourth novel. David Colmer has 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.

'Immersive and thoroughly satisfying.' * Trouw * 'A father on the edge...Flashes of Breaking Bad.' * Het Parool * 'A page turner...certainly got me questioning who to trust.' * RNZ Nine to Noon * 'A taut, psychologically lush, and utterly fulfilling novel, with narrative echoes of an old Icelandic saga...This is that rare beast: a work of literary fiction that will also satisfy the lovers of thrillers and crime fiction.' * GLAM Adelaide * 'The popular Dutch author captures the majesty and menace of the glacial landscape in a compelling psychological drama.' * Herald Sun * 'A memorable and disturbing psychological thriller, set against the backdrop of the unique and often dangerous landscape of Iceland...A remarkable achievement.' * Canberra Times *