A plot to assassinate Dom Mintoff combined with the sexual exploits of a troubled Brussels-based Maltese translator have helped turn the latest book by Alex Vella Gera into a resounding success.
It definitely topped any Merlin launch
The book, Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi, sold more than 1,000 copies in its first eight days, a record for Maltese adult fiction, according to Merlin Publishers.
It has even beaten the sales of the celebrated works by contemporary author Pierre Mejlak.
Code-switching between Maltese and English, Sriep depicts both the socio-political atmosphere of the 1980s and today, following EU accession and the introduction of divorce.
It is a brutally honest account of a Maltese man going through a midlife crisis and struggling to come to terms with his identity.
Mr Vella Gera is also the author of Li Tkisser Sewwi, an explicit article that sparked controversy when it was published in October 2009 by student newspaper Realtà.
The publication was reported to the police by University rector Juanito Camilleri and Mr Vella Gera was arraigned, together with editor Mark Camilleri, charged with publishing pornography. Both were later acquitted, even upon appeal.
The court case only seems to have raised Mr Vella Gera’s profile, helping to build up hype about his latest offering. Publisher Chris Gruppetta said the book began breaking local records even before it was available in the shops.
The book’s launch on October 20 attracted more than 300 people, a number he had never seen at such an event in Malta.
“It definitely topped any Merlin launch,” said Dr Gruppetta.
Bookshops ordered a record number of copies and, as soon as the books were available for sale, they began selling like hotcakes despite the fact that Maltese books written for adults rarely become bestsellers.
By comparison, Nanna Ġenoveffa, a book by iconic Maltese author Trevor Zahra, sold about 6,000 copies since it was published in May 2008. In the first eight days, it had sold about 500 copies and was already considered to be a “huge” seller, according to Dr Gruppetta.
The last Maltese book to sell almost 1,000 copies before the two week mark was the second book of the trilogy Is-Saltna tal-Fiddien, a very popular children’s book series.
Meanwhile, the local agent of the worldwide phenomenon 50 Shades Of Grey is rumoured to have sold about 5,000 copies so far. That figure does not include the copies bought online.