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PUBLICATIONS ANTHOLOGIES
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It’s not easy to describe Qed Nistenniek Niezla max-Xita. One moment, we're reading about dating in the big European cities, about clubs and parties and late-night musings. The next, we're in Gozo on the eve of the 1987 general election, with all the attendant tension and short tempers. It's a book about being European, about being young and inquisitive; but it's also a book about the Maltese roots that stay with us throughout our lives, making us look (fondly?) back at the idiosyncracies of living in a tiny island with attendant island mentality. Mejlak is one of the youngest published authors in Malta. Yet he is already celebrating his first decade as a published author, and a read-through of his backlist provides an overview of the development of a writer. In a relatively short time, Mejlak has grown into an artist of the written word, with a command of the modern Maltese idiom that is difficult to match. Having started with children's fiction and translations, over the past few years Mejlak gained a cult following online with his blogs, where he experimented with styles and expanded his repertoire. In 2007, Mejlak published his first teenage novel, Rih Isfel, which was hailed by critics and readers as heralding the coming-of-age of Maltese teenage literature. The book also won him the National Book Award for Best Teenage Book – marking the second time in his career that Mejlak won the National Book Award. Fans have been expecting – and fervently hoping for – a new work from Mejlak. This work is finally here: a collection of incisive short stories, each a snippet of life – be it life in a small Maltese village, be it a noisy cosmopolitan life, be it the life spent searching for an identity, for excitement or simply for companionship. It is often said of short stories that they are ideal for dipping in and out of, small but perfectly formed self-contained tales. In Qed Nistenniek Niezla max-Xita, this form finds its perfect expression. Each of the stories is a polaroid of a moment in a life, and the magic of Mejlak's writing is the capacity to make this polaroid as sharp and focused as a full-length novel would be, with believable characters and heartfelt emotions. Stories such as Il-Madonna f’Dar Evelina (The Madonna round Evelina's), Myslovitz or L-ewwel bajda (The first egg), beggar belief in their seeming simplicity and perfection of style. Others, such as Il-Hadd wara l-Ikel (Sunday just after lunch) are guaranteed to move any reader to tears. Others still, such as Dar ix-Xoghol or Ir-rih tal-bidla (The wind of change), reflect the complicated Maltese way of living politics. Each and every one who reads this book will have their own favourite story. Born in Gozo and presently living in Brussels, Mejlak is representative of his generation, the Generation-EU twenty-somethings who left Malta but are still very much connected to it, writing for and about it, and injecting a new style and freshness into writing in Maltese. (from Manic Magazine, February 2009)
Reviews "Short stories are not a genre that I go for,
generally, but I found myself moving from one to the other at quite
a clip, probably because the language and the style were such as
to engage me very strongly. One of the stories actually moved me
to, well, if not tears, very damp eyes. This was good stuff." "Pierre paints pictures with unusual colours
and brushstrokes, without explaining, because it is the story and
characters which paint themselves" "I had to read this book twice, some parts
even three times, not because it is difficult to understand, but
because it is addictively beautiful." "Fascinating" "I will never eat an apple in the same way
again" "Vibrant and forward-looking" "A young man's quest that seems as insatiable
as it is provocative to the reader. I have honestly not been this
excited by young Maltese writers since way back in the 1970s. Malta's
ever-growing cosmopolitan nature comes out like a laser beam, seeking,
finding and transfixing you. Mejlak is a keen observer and a great
collector of people's hearts and moods. This book will go a long
way towards confirming Mejlak as one of Malta's top young writers.
His uncluttered style and a penchant for the straightforward give
him the edge in present-day Maltese Literature that is struggling
albeit successfully, to claim tomorrow as a reality and not a myth." "Seeing a popular jazz club jampacked with
people for the launch of a book in Maltese, says a lot about how
eagerly awaited Mejlak's latest book was." "Extraordinary! Read it!" "Mejlak's voice ranges from the melancholy
to the comic, from the political to the personal - but always heartfelt
and intimate." "This book marks an important development in
Maltese Literature, quite simply because Maltese is being used to
describe the outside world first hand in the most natural way. The
resulting collection of stories is a breath of fresh air. This is
poetic pop literature, refreshingly unburdended by guilt or complexes." "Like his previous work, a compulsive page
turner" "A splendid collection of emotions" "Mejlak - probably the best writer of his generation
- is at his best." "Simply put, beautiful." "As the Maltese proverb goes, the early morning
sun bodes well for the entire day. Mejlak takes us a stride further
in the maturation of his writing. This book confirms Mejlak as a
natural born writer, whilst marking him as an important exponent
of New Maltese Literature." "Written as finely and as carefully as Gozitan
lace." "A breath of fresh air." "Writing in his mother tongue is this young
author's greatest inspiration." |
