Skandlu
by Daniel Sammut
BDL pp127
ISBN: 9789995720902
Just over a year ago, I was asked to have a look at early drafts of three short stories Daniel Sammut was writing. I enjoyed them immensely, for various reasons. Which is why I am very pleased to see that these same stories have finally reached local bookstores, in the form of a single volume which borrows its title from the most controversial of the three novellas.
Upon giving them a second reading, I was once again struck by the same salient feature in all of them – how the highlight isn’t the language, but the story that is being told.
Dr Sammut is an experienced and much-loved family doctor, and Skandlu represents his first foray outside of medical writing, and into the world of fiction and romance.
But what could be seen as a rather simplistic literary style is both justified and, in some ways, all the more effective. Dr Sammut has three very important stories to tell, and he does so without wasting too much time or print, yet not at the expense of the emotional core of each character’s journey.
The fruit of what he himself has described as a “profound existential crisis”, these tales clearly draw from the author’s experience treating the medical and non-medical anxieties of Maltese society. Each novella underlines the close link between our relationships, our mental health and our physical health. But don’t expect the fancy jargon that is used to impress audiences on Grey’s Anatomy or House MD – these three stories are told through the eyes of people you could bump into at the supermarket or post office tomorrow, and their visible and invisible scars are ones which are becoming increasingly common.
Easily the most heart-wrenching of the three novellas is Jungfrau, which is German for “young woman” or “maiden”. A tragic romance between a shy Maltese boy and a glowing Italian girl, this novella manages to pack its few pages with characters we find ourselves caring about, and twists that strike their life together out of nowhere. Hereditary illness is one of life’s great challenges, and enough to shake anyone’s faith, and this couple knows that all too well.
Skandlu? (Scandal?) is the more controversial entry, and slightly inferior to the other two with regard to originality and plot. But it makes up for this by being extremely topical, as it tackles the thorny subject of sexual abuse by the clergy, and the power struggles that may or may not mar the lives of those in institutions. The case unfolds like a detective story, and the sceptical police commissioner in charge was one of the characters I felt myself warming to most. Once again, the main protagonists are all vividly depicted, and the story’s unexpected turns towards the end elevate it above similar stories reported in the press. I could imagine this shocking story unfolding on our local TV screens, but I don’t mean that as an insult.
Rounding off the three novellas is Il-Funeral tat-Tabib Demanuele (Dr Demanuele’s Funeral), in which Dr Sammut cleverly uses the time it takes for a priest to celebrate a funeral Mass to examine the thoughts of those standing in the pews.
Sifting through the minds of those bidding farewell to the local family doctor, we discover the various roles he played in life – politician, doctor, family man, fisherman, friend, patient, and a few other roles he might have been less public about.
Nobody is perfect, and this very short but very focused epitaph brings the deceased back to life, showing him both at his best and at his most fallible.
Not everyone has donned black on this afternoon to pay sincere respects, but this is probably inevitable when one touches so many other lives.
Dr Sammut is obviously drawing from a lot of his own experience here, and the man he creates is one I would have been interested to meet before his untimely death.