A vain search

Last month The Times had an account of a new book in which older Gozitans recall earlier days. This appealed to me and so I sought to purchase a copy of the book which, The Times reported, would be available from all leading bookstores in Malta. I...

Last month The Times had an account of a new book in which older Gozitans recall earlier days. This appealed to me and so I sought to purchase a copy of the book which, The Times reported, would be available from all leading bookstores in Malta. I found three Maltese bookstores with a website, all celebrating their inventory and their expertise.

All three featured a reply button for inquiries from people like me who cannot easily take a bus for some leisurely browsing in Valletta. So I used their online inquiry form to ask about acquiring the book from them. The result for the past few weeks has been complete silence.

This has been disappointing to me in two ways: I probably will not be able to buy that book. But, more generally, it leaves me with the impression that, fancy websites or not, Maltese merchants have a long way to go in accommodating potential customers from abroad.

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