Traps

Well-written, entertaining, but overblown story of a traveling salesman (actually, sales manager) who stumbles into a group of retired jurists who play a weird game with passing travelers. To Duerrenmatt's credit, he avoids the ending we think we see coming from miles away. The transformation the sales manager goes through as he, under the influence of enough alcohol to kill most people, tells his story is the best part of the book, and should be a cautionary tale to us all. In a strange way, it reminds me of a verse from Bob Dylan's "John Birch Society Blues" in which the narrator, having run out of people to investigate, begins to investigate himself. "I hope I don't find anything," he sings. Then, after a suitable pause, he says "Uh show more oh". (Maybe you had to be there....) show less

Era tanto che non leggevo Dürrenmatt. Piacevole ritornarvi, eppure questo racconto brevissimo, tanto ben congegnato quanto prevedibile, non lascia per niente sazi - al contrario dei commensali del racconto - e anzi, a causa del finale fin troppo brusco, quasi delusi.

C'è sempre qualcosa da confessare!
Romanzo breve di un autore interessante, che da molto da pensare su cosa sia la giustizia. Davvero molto bello e avvincente

Traps , a traveling textile salesman, experiences an auto accident in a small town....
Was invited to him to a splendid and extravagant dinner ,in a large villa,
all night he was served a delicious dish after another and one for each course an expensive bottle of wine uncorked…

his host was a former judge, and the other guests include lawyers, prosecutors, and a former hangman
Whom represent the knights of virtue and the ones defending justice…
Who are used to Run daily through a trial, most of them deal with known historical cases…

over dinner, he was driven into a ridiculous joke and some sort of a strange game(the dangerous game of life and death) and a mock trial .he have taken the role of the accused. Traps being un careful and show more bragging about his achievements and success stories and there was nothing prevent him from achieving his goal

was interrogated about the ways he could fulfill his ambition....

he was found guilty of murder after confessing his sins ,although he hasn't committed the crime ,he was blamed for the victim heart attack ,
he even found relieve in the words of the prosecutor and was annoyed by his lawyer defense…......
And at last have the courage to die and found peace in it…..

The last scene show that although he has a great opportunity to know a lot about himself. And his his inner drives, he still will repeat the same mistakes…
And didn’t learn the lesson…
Dürrenmat has chosen a name with symbolic values which accentuate the thematic content of the play…
(Traps)
Another symbolize for time, by dawn, they begin their joy and happy hours ,but after sunset it will be time for death….

One of the best plays I have read,so many inner and deep meanings in a mocking and sarcastic way…..


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So many crimes pass unperceived. Who is not guilty? Alfredo Traps, a traveling salesman, believes he is no worse than the next man. Stranded in a small village, he finds lodging with a retired judge. At dinner that night, he becomes the entertainment, as the dinner guests play at a "mock trial", which becomes suddenly serious.

Cool story about a traveling salesman who goes in mock trial for “ his life “ with a retired judge and prosecutor.

A fun, macabre novella. You can read it in an hour or two.