Pierre Mejlak

Mejlak's second collection of short stories - [b:Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid|12279848|Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid|Pierre J. Mejlak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1410710905s/12279848.jpg|17255720] - earned him the EU Literature Prize and, in its expanded, English-language edition - [b:Having said goodnight|25229972|Having said goodnight|Pierre J. Mejlak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427471225s/25229972.jpg|17255720] - hopefully also a wider circle of admirers. Any such success is well deserved, for the book contains several precociously mature works which transplant a European, indeed cosmopolitan, sensibility onto still evident Mediterranean roots.

Qed Nistenniek Nieżla max-Xita (literally, I'm Waiting for you to come down with the Rain), is an anthology of earlier short stories in which the author still draws heavily on the Maltese experience, with foreign settings used more for a touch of the exotic than as a central part of the plot. What the stories may yet lack in sophistication, especially in comparison with Mejlak's later work, they make up in spontaneity. Most of the pieces are short, just a few pages long (I remember them published as blogposts on Mejlak's website) and, as in the best of short fiction, they focus on a particular theme or idea and develop it effectively in the space of a few paragraphs.

I could not help feeling that these stories (first published when the author was in his twenties, and reprinted here in an attractively presented and illustrated edition) are the work of a young man who has been a boy not long since, and who is well aware that youth will not last forever. Indeed, despite their bitter-sweet humour, most of the stories have a strong melancholic vein, generally one induced by nostalgia. The theme of memory, which will feature so vividly in Mejlak's second collection, is already hinted at in "Qed nistennik niezla max-Xita", especially in the more autobiographical pieces. For someone who shares more or less the same type of background and upbringing, these stories cannot but strike a chord. I may be biased, but I'll give this book five stars.

***

"Qed nistenniek nieżla max-xita" hija ġabra ta' stejjer illi forsi tidher anqas sofistikata minn "Dak li l-Lejl iħallik tgħid". Dik kienet antoloġija ta' awtur kożmopolita, li daq mill-qrib il-ħajja 'l barra minn xtutna. Min-naħa l-oħra, "Qed nistenniek nieżla max-xita" jagħtina sensiela ta' kwadri, qosra imma effettivi, li ħafna drabi narawhom jisiltu ideat mill-ħajja u l-esperjenza Maltija. Toltqok il-lehma malinkonika, it-tifkira tal-ewwel imħabba u, fuq kollox, in-nostalġija taqtagħha b'sikkina ta' awtur li m'ilux li kien tifel imma jaf li ma fadallux wisq żagħżugħ. Dawn huma stejjer illi għandek taqra fis-sajf, fuq bank fil-pjazza fis-siegħa ta' filgħodu, meta fil-misraħ ma jibqa' ħadd ħlief il-barman tal-każin jiġbor is-siġġijiet. Jew li tieħu miegħek Londra jew Brussell meta tibda nieżla x-xita u tispiċċa l-provvista ta' Twistees, Kinnie u Cisk. Jew li taqra lil uliedek meta jitfarfru u jistaqsuk - "għidli storja ta' meta kont żgħir, Pa'". Wasal iż-żmien għal ktieb ieħor Pierre.… (mehr)

Originally published in 2007, Riħ Isfel was one of the very first novels in Maltese addressed to an emergent "Young Adult" market. It is, in essence, a missing person mystery which plays out against the backdrop of a sleepy Maltese village during the hot, humid days of summer ("Riħ Isfel" is, in fact, a reference to the rather irritating warm Southerly wind so typical of the Mediterranean). This is a setting which the author - and most of his readers - are perfectly familiar with: a close-knit community where everybody knows everybody else, where nothing ever happens, where the few activities center around the church, the village square, the band club and the local council. But this is also a place where, notwithstanding initial appearances, young people watch the same movies, listen to the same music and - more importantly - share the same dreams, desires and anxieties as any of their foreign, more cosmopolitan, counterparts.

We experience the events of the novel unfolding through the eyes of three teenage boys - close school friends hailing from the same village - who have just finished their exams and can look forward to the gloriously long Maltese summer holidays. The boys' language is peppered with (admittedly mild) obscenities and they fantasize about the girls they would like to go out with. Nothing so controversial had the novel been published in English or had it been meant for adults. In 2007, however, this was quite a new and shocking concept for conservative Malta, leading the publishers to cautiously include a warning on the cover about the novel's "explicit" language.

More than ten years after it first appeared, and now that is far less likely to shock, Riħ Isfel can be enjoyed for what it is: a satisfying mystery story (perhaps too tidily explained at the end) with sharply observed characters and situations, enlivened by the author's sense of humour.

I haven't been a "Young Adult" for some time now. Having come of age in the same environment as that of the teenagers portrayed in the novel, "Riħ Isfel" also proved to be a nostalgic trip down memory lane, as bittersweet as the South wind which gives the novel its title.… (mehr)

Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid (literally, "What the night lets you say") is Pierre J. Mejlak's second collection of short stories after Qed nistenniek niezla max-Xita". First published in 2011, it earned its author the 2014 European Union Literature Prize.

Mejlak has also written a novel, several translations/adaptations and books for children, but short stories appear to be his favourite medium. It is also a genre which is well-suited to his style - a distinctive blend of bitter-sweet, poetic prose and bursts of impish humour, a combination of "literary" language and simple, realistic, in-your-face dialogue.

The stories in this book range from endearing romances (Dar ir-Rummien) to darkly comic yarns (Kolp ta' Stat and Il-Barranija). At one point Meilak even flirts with horror (L-aħħar sajf tieghek, Amy). The overarching theme of the collection is Memory, and how we tend to manipulate it to fashion our pasts. Memory and truth, the author seems to be telling us, are uncomfortable bedfellows.

All the stories are well-crafted pieces - the best of them (in my opinion, Mort naraha Pa and Nixtieq nghajjat lil Samirah) are genuinely moving.

I can't help suspecting that some of the stories' nuances are best appreciated by those who share the author's Maltese (or, more specifically, Gozitan) upbringing. This notwithstanding, Mejlak’s stories deserve an international readership and, thankfully, are now available in several languages, including an expanded English edition (Having Said Goodnight) translated by Clare Vassallo and Antoine Cassar. If you’d like a taste, here’s a link to Cassar’s translation of Mort naraha Pa:

http://www.eurolitnetwork.com/what-the-night-lets-you-sayby-pierre-j-mejlak/

Review uploaded at: https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/02/dak-li-l-lejl-ihallik-tghid-Pierre-Me...… (mehr)

Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid (literally, "What the night lets you say") is Pierre J. Mejlak's second collection of short stories after Qed nistenniek niezla max-Xita". First published in 2011, it earned its author the 2014 European Union Literature Prize.

Mejlak has also written a novel, several translations/adaptations and books for children, but short stories appear to be his favourite medium. It is also a genre which is well-suited to his style - a distinctive blend of bitter-sweet, poetic prose and bursts of impish humour, a combination of "literary" language and simple, realistic, in-your-face dialogue.

The stories in this book range from endearing romances (Dar ir-Rummien) to darkly comic yarns (Kolp ta' Stat and Il-Barranija). At one point Meilak even flirts with horror (L-aħħar sajf tieghek, Amy). The overarching theme of the collection is Memory, and how we tend to manipulate it to fashion our pasts. Memory and truth, the author seems to be telling us, are uncomfortable bedfellows.

All the stories are well-crafted pieces - the best of them (in my opinion, Mort naraha Pa and Nixtieq nghajjat lil Samirah) are genuinely moving.

I can't help suspecting that some of the stories' nuances are best appreciated by those who share the author's Maltese (or, more specifically, Gozitan) upbringing. This notwithstanding, Mejlak’s stories deserve an international readership and, thankfully, are now available in several languages, including an expanded English edition (Having Said Goodnight) translated by Clare Vassallo and Antoine Cassar. If you’d like a taste, here’s a link to Cassar’s translation of Mort naraha Pa:

http://www.eurolitnetwork.com/what-the-night-lets-you-sayby-pierre-j-mejlak/

Review uploaded at: https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/02/dak-li-l-lejl-ihallik-tghid-Pierre-Me...… (mehr)