Tuck into a good book

The best reads of the week by the National Book Council and Times of Malta

Għall-Glorja tal-Patrija!: Kapriċċi Patrijottiċi

By Aleks Farrugia
SKS Publishers
€15, ISBN 9789993217633

A collection of short stories, focusing on a different period in Maltese history, in which the author – with a mixture of fact, fiction and humour – tries to answer various questions: Who was the first Maltese? Why did Caxaro write his kantilena?

The Joannes Gennadius Maltese Treasure Trove in Athens

By Arnold Cassola
Malta University Press
€75, ISBN 9789990945997

This volume of materials recovered by Cassola is testament to the breadth of documentation collected by the bibliophile Johannes Gennadius (1844-1932), ranging from 16th century prints to watercolours and photos, of a disappearing Malta.

L-Istorja ta’ Seb it-Tieni (u ta’ Seb l-Ewwel ukoll)

By Leanne Ellul
Merlin Publishers
€4.50, ISBN 9789990917901

The humble Sebastjanus Arċibaldu Maximiljanissimu (known as Seb) is a great inventor – this time around, he comes up with the greatest invention the world has ever seen. At least according to his grandma Ġirasola. Beautifully illustrated by Noémie Gionet Landry, this series combines with Tikka Malti.

Rodham

By Curtis Sittenfeld
Random House
ISBN-13: 978-0399590917

Curtis Sittenfeld marries historic fact and fiction to re-imagine a turbulent relationship between Bill and Hillary Clinton. It’s a tour-de-force which examines the determination for power, the loneliness this brings, and female ambition in a world still run mostly by men.