There is much to say for a second reading.

The first time I read this book was in pre-publication times from a PDF file and I had written a short blurb for it, which appears on the back.

This second time I read it at leisure and it sure was worth it.

Salv Sammut has written a very acceptable tale, which is so very different from his previous books.

His theme this time is social exclusion because of gender prejudice. There are now quite a number of books that are focusing on gay or LGBT issues being published in Malta. I have no means, nor intention, of trying to rank them or to compare one with another. This book, however, is one of such a stream.

It is a tale from contemporary Malta, a Malta that has chosen to be part of the EU and whose young people have found a hitherto unhoped-for freedom in the big cities of Europe.

Nevertheless, Malta at its core remains a deeply traditional place where paternal discipline reigns supreme. Or so the fathers think. Despite all their secret peccadilloes and betrayals.

But Malta is not hypocrisy alone: it is also a place where really generous people live and where youths keep their optimism and idealism.

And where it is also possible to find examples of altruism and selflessness that in the long run overcome all petty selfishness and egoism.

The book is also an example how writers who are elderly can still talk and write about very contemporary issues that afflict the younger members of society.

I would wish to speak in such glowing terms about the book’s treatment of Maltese, but unfortunately I cannot though in this case, this is more due to the book’s editor, publisher and possibly proof-reader.