And there I stood, for a full five minutes, with my vision sliding down the wall like lazy glue and my mind telling me things, and me pretending not to hear it. For the second time in two years, Simon Bartolo and Loranne Vella had left me hanging, yearning for another instalment of their Fiddien trilogy. I would do anything; pay any price, even in barrels of oil in the case money were not enough, just to know how the epic battle between Jason and il-Fiddien will end. But I know the authors will keep me waiting, simmering in my own frustrated curiosity.
A year ago, it took me one monumental read to devour the 336 pages of Sqaq l-Infern and to get hooked on the world behind the word. The streets and alleys of the book twisted and turned to unearth mysteries lurking behind the familiar and mundane. In short, it was one of those books that make your mind halt in its steps and think, hey, I could have written this. Then you step back and reconsider that actually, you couldn't have. This is the measure of a good book; that, and the fact that it leaves you yearning for a second and a third helping of the same.
The follow-up to Sqaq l-Infern, entitled Wied Wirdien is about to hit the shelves, so I huffed and puffed and managed to get hold of an advance copy. And one sitting later, I'm back to the first paragraph, waiting for the third and final instalment of the Fiddien trilogy.
Wied Wirdien has a silent opening. The sun is high, crackling with bleached heat in Wied Wirdien, a stone's throw from Burmarrad. But it is not a peaceful, summer afternoon silence with floating, candy floss clouds. Rather, it is threatening; the sort of silence you experience underwater, not while diving, but when drowning. It is a silence heavy with impending doom, waiting to be broken and ripped apart. It is a quiet moment before a war. Then the words pan to Mtarfa, describing the gentle drizzle tap-dancing on the pavement as it washes away the tiny, street life details to make way for the big bang.
Apart from Lisa Falzon's fantastical illustrations for the book, the plot of Wied Wirdien is driven by four elements that make a book glimmer on the reader's horizon of expectations: narrator, characters, setting and language. The narrator is omniscient, with twinkling eyes that suggest higher knowledge but who in reality is, like the reader, taken by surprise and whose feet stick to the floor or scurry to run away. The characters in the fantasy world of Wied Wirdien are splendidly named and fabulously imagined, whereas those in the actual world are real and their dynamics complex: the love-hate relationship between Antida and Ġingo and the way Estella treats Jason with the same courtesy you normally extend to an unwelcome pimple are just two instances. And whereas most creepy crawlies, when translated to words, appear as real as a zombie in a Michael Jackson video, those that crawl up the pages in Wied Wirdien are vividly brought to life by a rich vocabulary and wry, dark, witty turns of phrase. The setting of the book is a topography of places we know spiked with imagined corners we are keen to discover: the Red House in Mosta where Tommy lives is the kind that feels good on the inside, especially when it rains. And especially when it rains cockroaches. Yet these mapped towns and villages throw metaphorical and metonymical hints at a dream world, as when a car drives by with a silencer that thunders like a dragon.
Then there's the language as used by two authors who have a gift for irresistible storytelling and a hunger for an inventive use of the Maltese language, turning Wied Wirdien into a gripping, clever mystery adventure that is in love with words. No wonder that mysteries are discovered and resolved in the library of the Red House, a veritable repository of ancient words, and that herbs and flowers release their scents with the power of language.
Reading Wied Wirdien is a happy moment, one of those happy moments that need not be marked by laughter, but which instead glow with a fuzzy, warm feeling. Until a cockroach lands on your neck...
• Wied Wirdien comes to life on April 24. To start the journey visit www.il-fiddien.com
Four Sqaq l-Infern readers gaze into their crystal ball and predict the twists of fate in Wied Wirdien
Victoria Vella
Il-Fiddien's mystery sparked my imagination from the very first page of Sqaq l-Infern, and I remember reading it full speed till I got to the end. I thought the authors managed to end Sqaq l-Infern on a great note: there was a relatively satisfying conclusion to the first branch of the story, which at the same time fuelled my curiosity. I think that in the second book we'll get to know that Tommy's dad is not dead but was changed to the peacock Pa Gunther by the same sorcery that hit Anita and Jeanelle.
I also suspect that Fennimore's tale isn't merely a tale but that there's a lot of truth in it, which will be central to the entire mystery. From Sqaq l-Infern's ending, I imagine il-Fiddien will try to bring Jason into his fold, take him to Wied Wirdien and try to get rid of him, but that Jason ‒ with help from Tommy and their friends ‒ will manage to gain the upper hand. I think we'll also find out about how and why exactly Anita and Jeanelle were transformed into Antida and Ġingo. Whatever does happen, I'm more than sure Wied Wirdien will have as many surprises, strange happenings, and adventure as Sqaq l-Infern did: I expect nothing less.
Sihon Gauci
I believe Wied Wirdien will delve deeper into the story of Fennimore Glenn and his children, Seolfor and Emindel. I tried putting together all the pieces of the puzzle and believe that Emindel tries in vain to protect his land from the cruel rule of Seolfor. He is banished from the land together with his family. Seolfor, who knows that Glenn blood runs through Emindel's veins, will not rest until he knows Emindel and his family are destroyed, so he hunts them across the land, hiding in the shadows. Emindel finds refuge in Malta, in the hope that Seolfor would not have heard of such a tiny island. Yet Seolfor discovers Emindel's hiding place, and arrives in Malta. Here, Seolfor makes a pact with a strange creature, half-human, half-cockroach. The creature offers Seolfor eternal youth in return for all the silver Seolfor can lay his hands on. The very second that the pact is reached, an unnatural darkness falls on the islands, particularly near the limits of Burmarrad, where a great hissing sound is heard. One woman describes the sound "as if a million cockroaches were marching together". She is laughed at by her neighbours and her theory dismissed. But if only they knew how a million cockroaches moved in unison, submerging Seolfor in a great wave until he becomes one with the creatures; until Seolfor Glenn ceases to exist and becomes a strange creature, that calls itself il-Fiddien.
Andreas Azzopardi
After all the surprises and twists in Sqaq L-Infern, to speculate on what might happen in Wied Wirdien is a difficult task indeed. A glance at the title, which is creepy but cool, I would imagine Wied Wirdien to be the actual location of the entrance to Il-Fiddien's lair; a labyrinthine place where a dark, sinister being lurks and gloats over the stolen silver brought to him by his weird creature minions, l-Immarkati.
I think there will also be more of Fennimore's story within a story. In Sqaq l-Infern, this added such a magical touch. Another story in a mediaeval setting and teeming with adventure, good morals and great characterisation would be awesome. Unsolved mysteries and character backgrounds not fully fletched in the first book will continue to unravel in Wied Wirdien, though I'm sure the authors will once again leave us wanting to know more at the end. Whatever the storyline, whatever the sub-plots, I guess il-Fiddien's nefarious laugh will echo through the pages of Wied Wirdien.
Noel Tanti
Sqaq l-Infern struck me as, first and foremost, a coming of age novel whose protagonist, Jason, has to go through a series of ordeals that will expose him to more mature emotions.
In my opinion, Wied Wirdien will delve deeper into aspects concerning his mother's illness, and the different relationships he has with his friends and, especially, Estella.
The role that the Rapa family plays in the plot involving the theft of silver will hopefully be made more explicit, as well as their referring to Jason as The Chosen One.
All in all I think that Wied Wirdien is going to be a lot darker than its predecessor as I believe (and hope) that we will see more of the sinister Fiddien.
A year ago, it took me one monumental read to devour the 336 pages of Sqaq l-Infern and to get hooked on the world behind the word. The streets and alleys of the book twisted and turned to unearth mysteries lurking behind the familiar and mundane. In short, it was one of those books that make your mind halt in its steps and think, hey, I could have written this. Then you step back and reconsider that actually, you couldn't have. This is the measure of a good book; that, and the fact that it leaves you yearning for a second and a third helping of the same.
The follow-up to Sqaq l-Infern, entitled Wied Wirdien is about to hit the shelves, so I huffed and puffed and managed to get hold of an advance copy. And one sitting later, I'm back to the first paragraph, waiting for the third and final instalment of the Fiddien trilogy.
Wied Wirdien has a silent opening. The sun is high, crackling with bleached heat in Wied Wirdien, a stone's throw from Burmarrad. But it is not a peaceful, summer afternoon silence with floating, candy floss clouds. Rather, it is threatening; the sort of silence you experience underwater, not while diving, but when drowning. It is a silence heavy with impending doom, waiting to be broken and ripped apart. It is a quiet moment before a war. Then the words pan to Mtarfa, describing the gentle drizzle tap-dancing on the pavement as it washes away the tiny, street life details to make way for the big bang.
Apart from Lisa Falzon's fantastical illustrations for the book, the plot of Wied Wirdien is driven by four elements that make a book glimmer on the reader's horizon of expectations: narrator, characters, setting and language. The narrator is omniscient, with twinkling eyes that suggest higher knowledge but who in reality is, like the reader, taken by surprise and whose feet stick to the floor or scurry to run away. The characters in the fantasy world of Wied Wirdien are splendidly named and fabulously imagined, whereas those in the actual world are real and their dynamics complex: the love-hate relationship between Antida and Ġingo and the way Estella treats Jason with the same courtesy you normally extend to an unwelcome pimple are just two instances. And whereas most creepy crawlies, when translated to words, appear as real as a zombie in a Michael Jackson video, those that crawl up the pages in Wied Wirdien are vividly brought to life by a rich vocabulary and wry, dark, witty turns of phrase. The setting of the book is a topography of places we know spiked with imagined corners we are keen to discover: the Red House in Mosta where Tommy lives is the kind that feels good on the inside, especially when it rains. And especially when it rains cockroaches. Yet these mapped towns and villages throw metaphorical and metonymical hints at a dream world, as when a car drives by with a silencer that thunders like a dragon.
Then there's the language as used by two authors who have a gift for irresistible storytelling and a hunger for an inventive use of the Maltese language, turning Wied Wirdien into a gripping, clever mystery adventure that is in love with words. No wonder that mysteries are discovered and resolved in the library of the Red House, a veritable repository of ancient words, and that herbs and flowers release their scents with the power of language.
Reading Wied Wirdien is a happy moment, one of those happy moments that need not be marked by laughter, but which instead glow with a fuzzy, warm feeling. Until a cockroach lands on your neck...
• Wied Wirdien comes to life on April 24. To start the journey visit www.il-fiddien.com
Four Sqaq l-Infern readers gaze into their crystal ball and predict the twists of fate in Wied Wirdien
Victoria Vella
Il-Fiddien's mystery sparked my imagination from the very first page of Sqaq l-Infern, and I remember reading it full speed till I got to the end. I thought the authors managed to end Sqaq l-Infern on a great note: there was a relatively satisfying conclusion to the first branch of the story, which at the same time fuelled my curiosity. I think that in the second book we'll get to know that Tommy's dad is not dead but was changed to the peacock Pa Gunther by the same sorcery that hit Anita and Jeanelle.
I also suspect that Fennimore's tale isn't merely a tale but that there's a lot of truth in it, which will be central to the entire mystery. From Sqaq l-Infern's ending, I imagine il-Fiddien will try to bring Jason into his fold, take him to Wied Wirdien and try to get rid of him, but that Jason ‒ with help from Tommy and their friends ‒ will manage to gain the upper hand. I think we'll also find out about how and why exactly Anita and Jeanelle were transformed into Antida and Ġingo. Whatever does happen, I'm more than sure Wied Wirdien will have as many surprises, strange happenings, and adventure as Sqaq l-Infern did: I expect nothing less.
Sihon Gauci
I believe Wied Wirdien will delve deeper into the story of Fennimore Glenn and his children, Seolfor and Emindel. I tried putting together all the pieces of the puzzle and believe that Emindel tries in vain to protect his land from the cruel rule of Seolfor. He is banished from the land together with his family. Seolfor, who knows that Glenn blood runs through Emindel's veins, will not rest until he knows Emindel and his family are destroyed, so he hunts them across the land, hiding in the shadows. Emindel finds refuge in Malta, in the hope that Seolfor would not have heard of such a tiny island. Yet Seolfor discovers Emindel's hiding place, and arrives in Malta. Here, Seolfor makes a pact with a strange creature, half-human, half-cockroach. The creature offers Seolfor eternal youth in return for all the silver Seolfor can lay his hands on. The very second that the pact is reached, an unnatural darkness falls on the islands, particularly near the limits of Burmarrad, where a great hissing sound is heard. One woman describes the sound "as if a million cockroaches were marching together". She is laughed at by her neighbours and her theory dismissed. But if only they knew how a million cockroaches moved in unison, submerging Seolfor in a great wave until he becomes one with the creatures; until Seolfor Glenn ceases to exist and becomes a strange creature, that calls itself il-Fiddien.
Andreas Azzopardi
After all the surprises and twists in Sqaq L-Infern, to speculate on what might happen in Wied Wirdien is a difficult task indeed. A glance at the title, which is creepy but cool, I would imagine Wied Wirdien to be the actual location of the entrance to Il-Fiddien's lair; a labyrinthine place where a dark, sinister being lurks and gloats over the stolen silver brought to him by his weird creature minions, l-Immarkati.
I think there will also be more of Fennimore's story within a story. In Sqaq l-Infern, this added such a magical touch. Another story in a mediaeval setting and teeming with adventure, good morals and great characterisation would be awesome. Unsolved mysteries and character backgrounds not fully fletched in the first book will continue to unravel in Wied Wirdien, though I'm sure the authors will once again leave us wanting to know more at the end. Whatever the storyline, whatever the sub-plots, I guess il-Fiddien's nefarious laugh will echo through the pages of Wied Wirdien.
Noel Tanti
Sqaq l-Infern struck me as, first and foremost, a coming of age novel whose protagonist, Jason, has to go through a series of ordeals that will expose him to more mature emotions.
In my opinion, Wied Wirdien will delve deeper into aspects concerning his mother's illness, and the different relationships he has with his friends and, especially, Estella.
The role that the Rapa family plays in the plot involving the theft of silver will hopefully be made more explicit, as well as their referring to Jason as The Chosen One.
All in all I think that Wied Wirdien is going to be a lot darker than its predecessor as I believe (and hope) that we will see more of the sinister Fiddien.