Books
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What happened in Malta after AD 870?
Joseph Grima (Ed): Melita Historica, journal of the Malta Historical Society. Vol. 15, no. 4. 2011. The Malta Historical Society, 2012. pp. 351. This issue of a much-respected journal, edited in this instance by Joseph Grima, offers a set of papers...
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Short stories and poetry for young adults
Two books by Adrian Grima, a collection of poems called Vleġġa Kkargata and a collection of short stories called Din Mhix Logħba, are being published by Klabb Kotba Maltin, featuring full colour, oil on canvas paintings by Karen Caruana. Although...
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Third volume of prayers written by San Ġorġ
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary from the death of San Ġorġ Preca, the Society of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM), through its publishing house Preca Publications, has just published another book penned by the saint himself, who is also the...
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Origins of vampire myths
The suave and sensitive Edward Cullen of Twilight may be the norm for vampires these days but fictional monsters such as Dracula originally sprang from the fear of inexplicable diseases and the mysteries of death in the natural world. So argues...
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The other side of the Judeo-Christian story
Anton Sammut: The Other Side of the Judeo-Christian History – a historico-religious treatise on Judeo-Christianity. Self-published. 2012. 389 pp. As I wrote some time ago, with his very first publication, in his hugely gripping philosophical novel...
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Of marionettes, Eros and death
A certain amount of literary agitation always surrounds the publication of a new anthology by Mario Azzopardi. Horizons has just published the latest book by this writer, who has been reinventing himself for the last 45 years. Il-Fabbrikant...
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Sagħtar back-to-school issue
As students across Malta are now well into the new scholastic year, the latest issue of Sagħtar, the Malta Union of Teachers’ magazine aimed at primary and secondary school students, is now available. This new edition includes a number of...
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The underbelly of Valletta
Intrigued by the colourful tales about the underground labyrinths of Valletta, author Edward Said has released a new publication, Subterranean Valletta, which sets out to uncover what really exists beneath the capital’s surface. It is said that...
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Turning pages
From fiction to non-fiction and children’s to adult, the Mediterranean Conference Centre is buried under books and it’s wonderful! Jo Caruana checks out the National Book Fair, which closes today. We all know the joy of being immersed in a really...
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Secrets of the Queen’s wardrobe
Top-secret dresses for meetings with James Bond, no hats after 6pm and jackets embroidered by indigenous North Americans are just some of the Queen’s wardrobe wonders revealed in a new book. Written by Angela Kelly, the Queen’s personal assistant,...
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All about being Jewish and Maltese
Aline P’Nina Tayar: Island of Dreams. Ondina Press. 2012. 272pp. Aline P’nina Tayar’s new novel revolves round a Jewish-Maltese family mainly during the 1970s and 1980s. The main characters are three first cousins: Vanna, Claire and Ellie. Vanna is...
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Knights’ fortifications in Mellieħa
A new publication about fortifications in the north of Malta, titled Fortifications of the Knights Hospitallers in Mellieħa, has been published by Jimmy and Jonathan Muscat. The book focuses on the northern areas of Malta and the Tal-Aħrax...
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Fifty Shades to seduce Japan
Erotic bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey will hit Japanese bookshelves tomorrow, its publisher said yesterday, hoping to repeat the breathless success it has enjoyed around the world. The novel, which features a sado-masochistic sexual relationship...
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The many colours of Maltese theatre
Mario Azzopardi (ed.): M’hemmx Bżonn Siparju. Malta Drama Centre. 242pp. This is not an easy book to cover, with no less than 17 Maltese theatre devotees and practitioners voicing their views on this popular, sometimes highly charged, cultural...
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Important Labour Party leader
Desmond Zammit Marmarà: Paul Boffa, Malta’s first Labour prime minister; translated from Maltese by Anne Schranz. SKS. 2012. 295 pp. This translation of Pawlu Boffa, published in 2010, is the biography of a man who played a key role in the history...
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Malta’s Achilles’ heel
Alex Vella Gera: Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi. Merlin Publishers. 2012. 526 pp. On an island like Malta, one particular X-factor is likely to turn any book into an immediate object of discussion, hype and desire. That X factor, particularly mere...
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Malta takes part in fourth Turkish literature festival
Maltese literature took the front seat for the first time at this year’s Itef Literatue Festival in Turkey, which brought together literature lovers from over 20 countries. It was represented by author Charles Casha and Joyce Grech, executive...
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Truth and cynicism in a clinical world
Carmel Scicluna: Barney l-Ispiżjar – a novel. Self-published. 2012. 372 pp. This is the writer’s sixth publication, a satirical and socio-political work that focuses on post-modern living and the existential angst it can bring with it. The...
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Mantel makes history with second Man Booker prize
Hilary Mantel wrote herself into the history books on Tuesday, becoming the first woman and first Briton to win the coveted Man Booker prize for fiction twice with Bring Up the Bodies, the sequel to her acclaimed Wolf Hall. Two men had previously...
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Maturity and mysticism
Richard England: Tapestries: Moonlight, Starlight and Nowhere. Selected poems. Melfi (Italia) Libria. 2012. 206 pp. This is the third substantial collection of poems in English published since 2006 by Richard England, who is also, of course, a...
