Michael Cini

 

Apprezzament ta’ Joseph P. Borg

 

Michael Cini feġġ fix-xena letterarja tagħna ħames snin ilu, bir-rumanz Preżenza (2014) – rakkont imħawwar sewwa b’esperjenzi misterjużi magħġuna fiċ-ċpar ta’ bejn id-dinja ta’ hawn u d-dinja ta’ hemm.

Imma mbagħad għat-tieni rumanz tiegħu bit-titlu Ix-Xafra tad-Destin (2015), kif jistqarr l-awtur stess, għażel li jgħaddi lill-qarrejja tiegħu “mill-bieb tal-istorja… f’avventura qalbiena fi żmien l-Assedju l-Kbir tal-1565”.[1] Bid-differenza li filwaqt li r-rumanzi storiċi li għandna marbutin mal-Assedju l-Kbir ġeneralment insibuhom ambjentati fl-inħawi tal-Port il-Kbir, din id-darba l-awtur għażel li jagħtina “l-esperjenzi mill-qrib li kienu għaddejjin minnhom nies oħrajn, li għalkemm kienu xi ftit ’il bogħod, xorta waħda kienu qed iġarrbu l-biża’, in-niket u taqtigħ il-qalb kbir.” [2] Fil-fatt il-protagonisti ewlenin f’dan ir-rakkont huma l-abitanti tal-Imdina u tal-madwar. Għandna għalhekk il-fatti storiċi mwaħħdin fi ġrajja patrijottika, qalbiena u mqanqla fl-imħabba; ġrajja li tagħti ħarsa mill-aktar oriġinali billi tiffoka u tqim liċ-Città Notabile f’għeluq l-450 sena mill-Assedju, kif fil-fatt jindika s-sottotitlu tal-ktieb: “L-Imdina 1565”.

Wieħed għaldaqstant jintebaħ kemm l-awtur huwa (1) sensittiv lejn l-istorja ta’ art twelidu, hekk li jsawwar rakkont epiku ma’ ġrajja importanti marbuta b’mod intrinsiku mal-gżejjer Maltin u daqstant ieħor mal-Ewropa Nisranija – kif jikkonferma Voltaire innifsu: “m’hemmx ġrajja aktar magħrufa mill-Assedju ta’ Malta” [3]; (2)  responsabbli bħala awtur li jħossu wkoll fid-dmir li jimmarka l-anniversarju importanti (450 sena), kif jistqarr fil-paġna dedikata lill-‘Memorja’: “Dan ir-rumanz ifittex li jfakkar il-memorja ta’ dawk missirijietna li, bis-sehem tagħhom kollha ntrebaħ l-Assedju l-Kbir ta’ Malta – 1565 – għax b’ħilithom u bil-qlubija kbira li wrew huma, trażżnet l-invażjoni tal-Imperu Ottoman fl-Ewropa Kristjana”; (3) demokratiku – fis-sens li jrid jinkludi lill-poplu kollu kemm fis-sagrifiċċju li għadda minnu mit-theddida Musulmana u daqstant ieħor fir-rebħa fuq l-għadu: “veru li l-qofol tat-taqbid u l-ġlied seħħ madwar il-Port, iżda mhuwiex xieraq li nħallu barra l-qlubija li wrew l-irġiel, in-nisa, ix-xjuħ u anke t-tfal li kienu għall-kenn tas-swar dgħajfin tal-Imdina. U xi ngħidu għas-suldati u r-rikkieba tal-Kavallerija tal-Ordni li ħafna minnhom kienu Maltin, u li ta kuljum kienu joħorqu minn din il-belt biex jagħtu sehemhom kemm jistgħu?” [4]

Huwa minnu li għar-rumanz li kien imiss, Michael għażel li jolqot aktar ’il ġewwa fil-laħam il-ħaj. Għax anke jekk din id-darba jagħtina rakkont li fih jesponi t-tbatija li jgħaddu minnha dawk li jfallilhom iż-żwieġ u jgħaddu mit-trawma tas-separazzjoni, b’danakollu, ir-rakkont Skjava … fil-Ktajjen tal-Imħabba (2016) xorta waħda jorbot ma’ tema li hi mill-aktar għal qalb l-awtur: l-imħabba. Din id-darba, però, id-djarju ma jibqax nazzjonali imma jsir intimu, anzi privat.

Michael Cini jerġa’ mill-ġdid imidd għonqu għal ġrajja epika oħra, mogħnija bi qlubija, glorja u patrijottiżmu bir-rumanz Konvoj (2017) din id-darba f’għeluq il-75 sena mill-wasla tal-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija jew kif kienet magħrufa mill-Alleati, “Operation Pedestal”. Aktar minn qatt qabel, il-qarrej hawnhekk jirrealizza kemm l-awtur kapaċi jissinkronizza rakkont fittizzju ma’ ġrajjiet li seħħew tassew u huma ddokumentati fil-paġni tat-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija b’reqqa u b’xhieda ta’ min ra u miss b’idejh.

Jekk fix-Xafra tad-Destin l-awtur ħa ħsieb ifittex fl-arkivji, jaqra d-djarji u jqalleb il-mapep qodma, jirriċerka t-toponomastika u jeżamina l-affreski ta’ Matteo Perez d’Aleccio, din id-darba, xejn inqas – anzi pjuttost bil-wisq aktar – ħass mill-ġdid il-mantell tqil tar-responsabbiltà lejn l-istorja u kif ifisser fid-daħla ta’ Konvoj – Il-Ġrajja li Naf Jiena Biss, “irriċerkajt minn bosta dokumenti u sorsi differenti, ħafna drabi b’diskrepanzi bejniethom, sakemm fl-aħħar irnexxieli noħloq ir-rumanz li xtaqt jien. Rumanz li minkejja t-tagħrif storiku li fih, xorta waħda jibqa’ pjaċevoli u mexxej mingħajr ma jtaqqal moħħ min iħobb jaqra r-rumanzi”.[5]

U hawn hu l-qofol ta’ kollox. Hija r-riċetta qadima li fissirha tant tajjeb Orazju f’De Arte Poetica: l-‘utilis’ flimkien mad-‘dulcis’ – kif ifissrilna Oliver Friggieri fid-Dizzjunarju tat-Termini Letterarji – ‘il-prinċipju klassiku, addattat u żviluppat minn żmien għal ieħor, li l-kittieb għandu jkun ta’ fejda u jagħti pjaċir’:

Poeta jkun ta’ fejda jrid jew jgħaxxaq

jew jgħaqqad f’daqqa ħwejjeġ kollhom hena

m’oħrajn tajbin għall-ħajja.

Laħaq kull għan li kellu min lis-siewi

mal-ħelu ħallat, għaxxaq lill-qarrejja

filwaqt li għallem.[6]

 

Fi kliem ieħor: hi l-‘formola tas-suċċess tal-kittieb; l-għoti tal-pjaċir (dilictare) u l-għoti tat-tagħlim (prodesse) minsuġin f’għemil wieħed hekk li jgħaqqad forma sabiħa ma’ kontenut siewi.[7] Dan l-aspett didattiku jinħass bħala impenn min-naħa tal-awtur: il-letteratura b’funzjoni li tgħallem, imqar billi tfakkar u tnissel fil-poplu sens ta’ rikonoxximent, għarfien u gratitudni lejn missirijietna li bnew in-nazzjon li qed ngħixu fih illum.

Awtur b’ħames rumanzi wara ismu mhux bilfors li jkun laħaq jew resaq qrib il-quċċata artistika tiegħu imma żgur li jħoss jistrieħ fuq spallejh il-mantell tar-responsabbiltà lejn il-qarrejja u l-pubblikatur tiegħu u fuq kollox miegħu nnifsu. Jeħtieġlu għaldaqstant iħares kemm il-ħsieb Orazjan kif ukoll il-livell miksub diġà bid-dijeġesi tiegħu.

Illum qed niċċelebraw, flimkien ma’ ħames rumanzi oħra, is-sitt rumanz ta’ Michael Cini bit-titlu Eroj – Mħabba u Qlubija fis-Sette Giugno. Huwa rumanz li jistrieħ fuq il-formola li semmejt aktar qabel: (1) marbut mal-patrija billi jigglorifika ġrajja ewlenija li seħħet tassew fi gżiritna; (2) jiċċelebra anniversarju importanti, f’dan il-każ iċ-ċentinarju mill-irvellijiet li seħħew fis-7 ta’ Ġunju 1919; (3) demokratiku għax huwa rumanz “imnebbaħ mit-tiġrib u mill-ideali tan-nies komuni; rumanz mibni fuq ix-xejriet reali tan-nies tat-triq meqjusin bħala l-qofol tas-sistema tal-għajxien soċjali… ta’ xeħta kemm romantika u kemm realista, itella’ fil-wiċċ l-esperjenza ta’ nies meħudin mill-kotra li issa hi mifhuma bħala dik li għandu jkollha s-setgħa f’idejha. Il-ħtieġa li sseħħ il-ġustizzja fost il-klassijiet tas-soċjetà hi waħda mix-xejriet ta’ dan ir-rumanz.” [8]

Qabbel din it-tifsira ta’ Oliver Friggieri meta jagħti d-definizzjoni ta’ ‘rumanz demokratiku’ mal-istqarrija  tal-awtur innifsu fil-Kelmtejn Qabel:

Kienu x’kienu l-ġlidiet, minkejja l-iskopijiet varji li kien hemm warajhom u d-differenzi fil-politka u l-klassijiet soċjali ta’ bejn il-ġellieda li kienu qegħdin jikkumbattuhom, dakinhar tas-Sette Giugno ltaqgħu lkoll flimkien biex ingħaqdu f’forza waħda. Mewġa qawwija ta’ saħħa li daqs l-aqwa rivoluzzjoni, qamet tħabbat kontra l-blat iebes li kien jaħkimha. Uragan li kien ilu jiġma’ u jimtela bi dwejjaq, inġustizzji u sofferenzi ta’ poplu. Tant li bid-dagħdigħa ħarxa li sab ruħu fiha, issawwar f’folla patrijottika li magħquda f’poplu wieħed, issieltet bla rażan biex sa fl-aħħar irnexxielha tgħolli rasha, issemma’ leħinha… u turi snienha.

Minn dakinhar, il-poplu Malti beda bil-mixja qalbiena tiegħu għall-awtonomija politika li ngawdu aħna llum.[9]

Il-qarrej kolt li jixtarr in-narrattiva Maltija u jaf jiżen bejn rumanz u ieħor jista’ jikkunsidra li jikklassifika r-rakkont il-ġdid ta’ Michael Cini mar-rumanzi soċjorealisti, ngħidu aħna ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti (Qabel Telgħet ix-Xemx, Il-Mandraġġara, L-Isqaq), L-Ibleh ta’ Ġużè Orlando u Tejbilhom Ħajjithom ta’ John F. Marks. Imma jidhirli li Eroj aktar jidentifika ruħu bħala rumanz demokratiku speċjalment meta wieħed iqis li fil-qofol tiegħu, magħġuna mal-ġrajja ta’ mħabba bejn Anġlu u Serafin, hemm it-tqanqila tal-kotra li qed tissielet biex tieħu s-setgħa f’idejha. Il-kritiku jista’ jikkunsidrah bħala rumanz popolari wkoll, fis-sens li jfittex il-gosti tal-kotra u fuq kollox “huwa rakkont ħafif imfassal biex jiddeverti u aktarx biex jgħallem, u sikwit biex jolqot l-emozzjonijiet” [10] Daqstant ieħor huwa rakkont epiku, xhieda kważi dokumentata ta’ rivoluzzjoni do minore; mument erojku li permezz tiegħu l-awtur qiegħed ukoll isellem lir-rumanzi storiċi li fl-epopea tagħhom ukoll taw xhieda ta’ ġrajjiet mimlija ġieħ, eroj u qlubija.

L-eroj ta’ Michael Cini huma pjuttost edukati u istruwiti minkejja l-miżerja li trabbew u li sabu ruħhom fiha. Hawnhekk m’għandniex il-klassi l-baxxa, aljenata u injoranta kif insibu fir-rumanz ċelebri Ulied in-Nanna Venut fl-Amerka ta’ Juann Mamo. Bil-kontra, huma karattri konxji tal-qasma li hemm bejn il-poplu u l-ħakkiem, bejn is-sid u l-ħaddiem. B’mod partikulari l-protagonista, u saħansitra sensittivi għall-klassi soċjali li twieled fiha kif ukoll xprunat u aġġornat fl-attività politika li qed isseħħ madwaru.

Hawnhekk mhux il-waqt li nidħol fil-kontroversja storika tas-Sette Giugno – x’ġara eżatt dakinhar inħalluh f’idejn l-istudjużi tal-istorja. B’danakollu wieħed irid japprezza l-fatt li Michael, bħalma għamel b’reqqa kbira għar-rumanzi tiegħu Ix-Xafra tad-Destin u Konvoj, ħa ħsieb jirriċerka u jgħarbel il-kotba tal-istorja, ħa ħsieb jifli l-għejun biex minnhom jislet u jfassal il-ġrajja fi ktieb pjaċevoli. Bħall-awtur, jien ukoll fi tfuliti u f’żgħożiti sibt lil min għall-finijiet ta’ moħħu ried iċekken din il-ġrajja u jneżżagħha minn waħda sinifikanti għal frattarija magħmula minn salt ħamalli li dakinhar u l-għada riedu jaħbtu għall-importaturi tal-qamh u bini ieħor tal-gvern kolonjali, bl-opportunisti jisirqu mill-ħwienet u jkissru u jfarrku kulma ġie f’idejhom. Daqstant ieħor gvern wara l-ieħor żammew l-appuntament mal-istorja ta’ pajjiżna u nqdew bil-vittmi biex irewħu l-propaganda lis-segwaċi tagħhom.

Hi għalhekk importanti u kruċjali l-istqarrija li r-rumanzier jagħmel qabel jibda r-rakkont tiegħu:

Il-binja ta’ dan ir-rumanz ma kinetx waħda faċli għaliex jien u naqra, minn studju għal ieħor bdejt insib interpretazzjonijiet u verżjonijiet differenti b’bosta diskrepanzi bejniethom. Madanakollu, ippruvajt noħloq bilanċ biex sawwart il-ġrajja li kelli f’moħħi filwaqt li bqajt fidil lejn l-istorja ta’ Malta. B’hekk irnexxieli noħloq rumanz mimli azzjoni kif ukoll imħabba, li b’kitba mexxejja u mingħajr ma jtaqqal moħħ il-qarrej jagħti stampa ċara tal-kuntest, flimkien mal-kurrenti li wasslu għall-irvellijiet tas-Sette Giugno. [11]

Aktar minn hekk, fi tmiem ir-rakkont l-awtur jistieden lill-qarrej ikompli jiskopri billi jaqra aktar bil-għan li jiżen il-fatti: “tajjeb li wara li taqra kitbiet ta’ xejriet politiċi differenti, inti wkoll tifforma l-opinjonijiet tiegħek dwar dak li ġara, u għaliex kellu bilfors iseħħ dak kollu fil-kuntest ta’ dawk iż-żminijiet.” [12]

Tajjeb ngħidu wkoll li ftit kienu r-rumanziera li ħadu ħsieb ifakkru dan il-mument importanti fl-istorja tan-nazzjon tagħna. Jidhirli li Ġużè Chetcuti biss, bid-dramm soċjopolitiku tiegħu 1919, li ħa ħsieb jimmarka l-avveniment f’sens letterarju. Fi kliem Chetcuti stess:

Il-forn li minnu ħareġ ibaqbaq in-nar tar-rewwixta kien jinsab ġot-tarzna. In-nar kien ilu jagħti. Ma xegħelx f’daqqa. Il-ħaddiema tat-tarzna kienu ilhom juru d-dwejjaq tagħhom. ‘Għadd minnhom, jgħidilna Ġeraldu Azzopardi, kienu jaraw u jinteressaw ruħhom fil-kustjoni soċjali, fil-politika tal-pajjiż, kienu mħarrġa fil-ħsieb, kellhom ġo qalbhom iż-żerriegħa li snin qabel kienet inżergħet fosthom minn Manwel Dimech’. [13]

Mhux ta’ b’xejn li l-awtur ta’ Eroj ma jdumx ma jqiegħed lill-protagonista tiegħu fil-qalba ta’ din il-ħuġġieġa, jiġifieri fit-Tarzna, u ’l Dimech isemmih mas-sbatax-il darba flimkien max-Xirka tal-Imdawlin tiegħu. Bid-differenza li filwaqt li Chetcuti jsejjes id-dramm tiegħu madwar Manwel Dimech fil-karattru prinċipali tad-dramm, Wenzu – li mhu ħadd ħlief Lorenzo Dyer, wieħed mill-vittmi – fir-rumanz ta’ Michael Cini l-protagonista huwa eroj minn fost il-folla. L-anonimu minn fost dik il-ġemgħa ta’ qalbiena li jsalva bi żbrixx mit-taqtigħa u mix-xafra tal-bajjunetta tas-suldati Ingliżi biex wara jkun jista’ jirrakkuntalna fl-ewwel persuna dan id-dramm li sal-lum għadna nimmarkawh b’jum nazzjonali. La fl-Indipendenza u lanqas fil-Ħelsien ma xtered demm Malti. U la konna naslu għall-Indipendenza u wisq inqas għall-Ħelsien li kieku ma kienx għas-Sette Giugno.

In-narrattiva ta’ Michael Cini mhijiex biss imsejsa fuq ġrajjiet riċerkati. Michael għandu ħakma tajba mhux biss fuq il-lingwa imma jaf isib u jqiegħed il-kelma f’lokha. Għandu vokabolarju rikk u kif ngħidu, idoqq fil-widna. Aktar minn hekk, drawwiet missirijietna jerġgħu jfiġġu matul il-kapitli, kapitli qosra li ma jdejqux lill-qarrej u fl-istess ħin iżommuh imkaħħal mal-folji sakemm il-ktieb jinqara minn qoxra sa qoxra. Ngħidu aħna, meta Anġlu jġib quddiem għajnejh lil missieru lura mix-xogħol għajjien mejjet, u “jaqbad il-ħobż bejn idejh kollhom trab, ibusu, u jintefa’ jindafar bil-ġuħ għami li kien jiġi bih mix-xogħol.” [14] Jew id-deskrizzjoni mill-aqwa li jagħtina tal-ferrovija meta Anġlu jirkeb mill-Ħamrun sa ma jasal Ħ’Attard u jagħtina xenarju mill-isbaħ ta’ dawk l-inħawi li hu tant familjari magħhom u li huma tant għal qalbu – Ħal Lija u Ħal Balzan.

Imma daqstant ieħor mhux biss huma sbieħ imma tassew oriġinali d-dehriet li l-awtur jagħtina ta’ Malta sotterranja li jeżistu taħt il-Belt Valletta, donnu jrid ifittex l-għeruq ta’ pajjiżna u jinżel u jesplora saħansitra d-dinja moħbija ta’ taħtna li ftit jafu biha. Dawn id-deskrizzjonijiet nistgħu ngħidu li nsibuhom sa mill-ewwel rumanz tiegħu Preżenza (it-tiftixa għal Grabiel fil-bir u l-għar moħbi) kif ukoll f’Ix-Xafra tad-Destin (il-kapitli “Passaġġi Sigrieti” u “Fil-Katakombi”).

Michael huwa wkoll mgħallem tal-idjoma Maltija u jsegwi b’rettezza l-amar ta’ Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi: “Qatt ma tkun tista’ tgħid li taf ilsien tajjeb jekk ma tkunx taf tajjeb l-idjoma tiegħu.[15]

Bis-saħħa ta’ dan ir-rumanz, Michael Cini żamm l-appuntament maċ-ċentinarju tas-Sette Giugno u b’mod letterarju fakkar lill-poplu Malti li jkun għajb kbir għalina li ninsew is-sagrifiċċji li għaddew minnhom missirijietna:

Dan ir-rumanz ifittex li jfakkar

Il-memorja u jagħti ġieħ

Lil dawk il-martri u eroj li fl-irvellijiet tas-Sette Giugno,

Issieltu u saħansitra anke xerrdu demmhom

Biex Malta tkun tal-Maltin

 

Nirringrazzjawh minn qalbna ta’ dan il-ġest tabilħaqq patrijottiku. Daqstant ieħor huwa patrijottiku kull awtur li jagħżel il-Malti bħala l-għodda letterarja tiegħu. Huwa ċar li Michael Cini jħoss dan id-dmir lejn art twelidu. Anzi, huwa dmir ħafna għal qalb l-awtur – lejn il-maestà tal-ilsien Malti. F’kull ktieb li ppubblika, fil-paġna tad-dedika nsibu miżjud dan il-kliem: “… kif ukoll lil kull min jgħożż, japprezza u jagħti sehmu biex l-Ilsien Malti nibżgħu għalih u nkomplu nikkultivawh kif jixraqlu ħalli jgawduh ukoll ta’ warajna.”

 

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[1] Michael Cini, Ix-Xafra tad-Destin (2015). Ara qoxra ta’ wara.

[2] Cini, Ix-Xafra tad-Destin, xvii.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Siege_of_Malta

[4] Cini, Ix-Xafra tad-Destin, xvii.

[5] Michael Cini, Konvoj: Il-Ġrajja li Naf Jiena Biss (2017), 16.

[6] Orazju, De Arte Poetica (traduzzjoni ta’ Oliver Friggieri) vv. 454-456; 468-470 (1988), 41.

[7] Oliver Friggieri, Dizzjunarju ta’ Termini Letterarji (2000), 844.

[8] Friggieri, 682-683.

[9] Michael Cini, Eroj – Mħabba u Qlubija fis-Sette Giugno (2019), 13-14.

[10] Friggieri, 685.

[11] Cini, 14.

[12] Cini, 308.

[13] Ġużè Chetcuti, 1919 (1987), xix.

[14] Cini, 30.

[15] Ġino u Anna Muscat Azzopardi, Kif Ngħiduha (1975), verso

Comment by Keith Simkin’s

How would you respond to occupation of your country by a foreign invader? In her most recent novel, Big Oak on Little Mountain (Horizon Press), Lou Drofenik gives us the raw material to think about how we would answer this question. She describes the responses of the  people in Ljubljana     to the Italian and German invasions during World War 2. Her initial curiosity was not casual. A relative perished in the Dachau concentration Camp. Years after the war, she found a badge in the family garden in Mestinje, Slovenia, inscribed with a swastika. Intrigued, her research into the experiences of her family and neighbours during the war led her eventually to write this powerful story. In a prefatory note she describes the awful truth she discovered through her research:

“After reading many books, I realised that Slovenia’s war story is not a simple story of good versus evil… it is a story of a people divided among themselves; a people without a common enemy… the enemy was also the brother, the neighbour, the sister, the father even.”

In this imaginative reconstruction of life in occupied Slovenia Lou Drofenik helps us to comprehend the behaviours and motives of the many different types of people who found themselves caught up in this maelstrom — peasants, townspeople,  factory workers, intellectuals, priests, resistance fighters, collaborators, military officers in the occupying armies and the majority of people who, as in all wars, try  to cope as best as possible by complying or resisting to various degrees as opportunity allows.

To provide a focus, events are filtered through the thoughts and observations of Eda, orphaned after her mother committed suicide and her father disappeared at sea. Eda was never told the truth of how or why her mother died. All her life she disbelieved most of what people told her. She felt exiled from her rural birthplace of Mala Gora and yearned to recapture the security of her mother’s love. She was brought up by her aunt Alma in the small Slovenian town of Sveti Mihael.  Discontented, resenting the constraints of village life, at the age of fifteen Eda fled to the capital Ljubljana and found employment as a nanny in the house of anti-Communist Catholic academics. .

The Italian and German invasions of Yugoslavia and the deterioration of living conditions divided families and social groups. Hatreds erupted, based on class, education, language, politics and religion, all of which provided rationalisations to justify dispossession, imprisonment murder and mass executions. Swept into the maelstrom of wartime life in Ljubljana and in Italy, people were forced to make difficult choices. Father Micallef is desperate to make amends to his Slovenian parishioners for his younger brother’s atrocities in the Fascist army; Frank, the cycling champion feted in Italy, subverts his patrons by organising escape routes for Jews; Alma flees to the rural village of Mala Gora in a desperate effort to protect a gypsy boy she has looked after since his family was casually executed. Eda is pressured by some of her former neighbours in Sveti Mihael to assist the Resistance but threatened by others with execution as a collaborator.

The scarcity of trust and the search for belonging, especially in wartime, are the central existential issues of this novel, but fans of Lou Drofenik will recognise several additional themes that have characterised most of her imaginative writing. Her love of nature is reflected in the contrast she draws between the insecure, threatening and contingent nature of city life and her dreamlike accounts of life in rural communities before the Italian invasion. Her passionate belief in the nurturing influence of mothers and the power of female bonding has earned Lou Drofenik the reputation of being an influential writer of the feminine. In this novel the nature of feminine strength is subject to critical scrutiny in her analysis of Eda’s problematic relationships with her foster parents Alma and Lovisa, and with Slavica, the maths professor whose baby she looks after as a live-in nanny.

Lou Drofenik has written often about the inter-relatedness of the Roman Catholic church, education, language and social class in the lives of people. The persistence of these themes in her writing is not accidental. She loves nature and enjoys growing vegetables and flowers in her country property. She is a devoted mother of four children and until her retirement to write novels she was a committed and much-loved elementary school teacher. She was educated in Maltese schools, married into a Slovenian family, completed a university degree and wrote her doctoral dissertation on the sociological experiences of post war women immigrants to Australia (of which she was one).

This correlation between Lou Drofenik’s passions and her creativity is a possible clue why she can employ a range of techniques so successfully. She manages to corral a large cast of characters because each one personifies a major theme and can be related in some way to Eda, so the narrative strands are firmly interwoven. She uses thematic contrast to balance mood and purpose. The first half of the narrative sets up the background of traditional rural communities; the second half descends into the abyss under foreign control, mostly in the uncertainty of intrigue in Ljubljana but also in the ravaged lives and lands of the once bucolic Slovenian heartland.

Lou Drofenik also uses contrast in descriptive techniques. Her long, lyrical descriptions of the countryside remind us of vistas that have caused us to stop and wonder at the beauty of nature. She details the objects in kitchens that remind us of houses we have loved and meals we have enjoyed. When she portrays her main characters, however, we relate with them mainly through their internal soliloquies, their calculus of ethical options and the (mis)match between intentions and outcomes. We are permitted to observe her minor characters less intimately, mainly through their direct conversations or their actions. This contrastive technique departs from the usual injunction to writers to ‘show, not tell’, but it highlights the relevant plot points and thus powerfully reinforces the main themes explored in the novel.

One particular technique illustrating Lou Drofenik’s skill is her use of a kind of Chorus, or anonymous commentator, whose voice appears in italicised sections at various parts of the narrative. These sections do various things: provide context for an incident, speculate on a character’s motives, excoriate the invaders and become a mouthpiece for Slovenian patriotism, and at other times provide an insight into the motives of the actors not given to us in the main text. Readers might like to indulge in speculation about these choral passages. At times I wondered if they represent the Big Oak, a symbol of rural solidarity and reverence for life, and at others I heard in them the voice of the Slovenian heartland. Whatever one’s speculation, this device assists the author to provide a third party point of view that anonymously adds both information and suspense.

Fans of Lou Drofenik will be well satisfied with her eleventh novel. It confirms her place as an internationally recognised writer of literary fiction. She demonstrates the power of creative literature to show us truths about war more powerfully than is possible through the ‘objectivity’ of nonfiction documentaries.  There is another strong reason to read this book. In her Foreword, Lou Drofenik writes: “The hatreds and the silences about the choices people made during a terrible time of history, when choices determined personal survival and the survival of one’s family, left a bitterness in the Slovenian psyche to this very day.” Our mass media show us in great detail the physical damage of current military conflicts, but less about their long-term effects on the minds of individuals and the soul of their country. This novel is a potent correction to the dangers of this kind of myopia.