Ana María Matute

"In her powerful novel, The Trap, Ana Maria Matute explores the ties that bind family, society and culture. Through her compelling use of a powerful feminine first-person narrative, Matute highlights the experience of women during the tumultuous years of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Matute delicately weaves a feminist subtext into the larger context of Spain's difficulties in dealing with gender, class and cultural distinctions. She draws from her own experiences to paint a literary picture of the conflict between two groups: the people she calls the merchants (who deny the vitality of life) and the soldiers (who believe in tolerance).  In this third novel of the famous trilogy, The Merchants, Matute examines the lasting effects of social upheaval, discrimination and lives trapped in conflict." –Midwest Book Review