Ir-Raġel li ġie mal-Lejl
A novel in Malteseby Alfred Massa
Horizons Publishers, 2021
Alfred Massa is definitely one of Malta’s best and most prolific novelists, and the fact that he is also a worthy poet, his prose is invariably further enhanced with an endearing poetic touch all its own.
A good novel depends on both imagination and personal life experiences; and an author must be blessed with both if he is to achieve satisfaction and success in the pursuit of his art.
As for imagination, Massa is most certainly a master in the command of imagination, and his own personal experiences of life further add immensely to the realistic element which has always embellished all the novels he has written and published to date.
This time, we have in hand a novel which is superbly engulfed in an aura of mystery and suspense.
One night, while on the roof of their home, Bettina and her children Tommaso and Kristina notice a shabbily-dressed man lurking about who, on seeing them, asks for help.
Kind-hearted Bettina lets him in and, hearing his story and pitiable situation, decides to trust him and employ him in reviving her large abandoned field.
Massa’s fertile imagination has reached fresh heights and this novel is definitely a must for the aficionados of Maltese novels
The man, Konrad, a German residing in Malta, however, soon starts to behave quite oddly. As the plot thickens, one will surely ask a few rational and curious questions. What about Bettina’s husband? Who was this strange man? How did Kristina relate to Simone, the daughter of Girgor and Saverja? Why was Girgor so hugely indebted to Bettina?
All these questions unfurl slowly in an aura of suspense that leads on relentlessly to a thrilling final surprise that makes this novel one of Massa’s best, particularly in the way the plot escalates in various rhythms without allowing the reader to rightly guess what will eventually ensue. This time, Massa’s fertile imagination has reached fresh heights and this novel is definitely a must for the aficionados of Maltese novels, a story which is a joy to read and to have on one’s bookshelf.