Beyond reality

Salv Sammut: Ix-Xirka tal-Beati Paoli
A novel; a Horizons publication, 2019; 326 pages.

These days, Salv Sammut’s name is added to those of Maltese writers who have given, and are still giving, an important and worthy contribution to Maltese literature.

We have in hand another strong novel from the hands of this prolific writer, who is also a poet and an essayist, besides crea­ting other literary works of different genres, all proof of his ability to express in the best of ways his general literary talent, with an absolute dedication and high degree of artistry.

Sammut is a novelist with a difference. He is fully conscious of cruel reality, that of life as well that of humanity itself, with all its weaknesses. This was always clearly evident in every novel he wrote, particularly Id-Dar ta’ Ħdejn il-Baħar.

In every subject he pens, he penetrates directly into every situ­ation which would invariably be corrupting mankind, society and life itself; he examines everything with the utmost care, with an element of psychology very often seasoned with romantic hues, which dramatically elude reality, embellish the story without making it unreal, respecting essentiality and making it worth long hours of soul-searching.

This very powerful novel, which the author recommends for adult reading, is a horrifying and woeful story. The main theme is paedophilia, which has been with us since the very crea­tion of man, has always been tragically kept under thick carpets for centuries, leaving in its wake thousands of victims and being practically elusive of every power. Like the phenomenon of drugs, this has today become a really scary element, destructive and very likely always leading to a tragic end for its victims.

In this story, a boy (Xandru) is regularly abused in a religious school. Dreadful events follow, thanks to the bitter experiences he had passed through, with after-effects that continued for many years afterwards.

This novel is another strong study about psychological traumas, emotional love, genuine friendship and, intensely, a sense of duty, love and justice. This sense is a particular characteristic of Sammut who, in all his works, does all he can to mercilessly indicate man’s shortcomings, and prays that all that is abominably wrong be immediately corrected, so that life will not be more painful than it actually is.

A study about psychological traumas, emotional love, genuine friendship

Like all his other novels, this very beautiful one by Sammut is embellished with vivid rural descriptions, intense emotions that grip the mind of readers to draw them ever deeper into the story. Above all, there reigns a psychological element finely deco­rating the finest romantic passages which, at intervals, softens the cruel reality the author would have passed on to the readers to carry them deeper into the core of the story.

Ix-Xirka tal-Beati Paoli is a very harsh and powerful novel, that very often has horrific passages; a novel that emphasises a reality depicted in the most sincere way, supplemented by the eternal cry of a novelist and a poet who knows the power of love and is always dreaming of a better life for mankind, a life worth living and enjoyable all along the short pilgrimage man has to go through in this world.