A limited amount of the novel LA BIDU, LA TMIEM 1599 (Neither a Beginning, Nor an Ending, 1599) autographed by author Alfred Sant will be available this week at the SKS Publishers Stand at the National Book Festival to be held between 12-16 November at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta. SKS Publishers, who are bringing out a revised reprint of Alfred Sant's novel, said yesterday that they received demands by readers to have their novel signed by Alfred Sant, but the latter will not be in Malta this week due to other commitments related to his new role at the European Parliament.
The author himself describes this work as a historical novel encompassing the past and future, linking literature to social reality. 'Sant's novel breathes new life into that vast tradition of historical-romantic novels which in 19th century Malta were written from a religious and patriotic stance. Sant, however, differs from the rigid formula of the historical novel in that he experiments with postmodern techniques. Sant blends together a romantic style of writing with an expansive epic genre that is constantly focused on the socio-political and cultural implications the citizen has to contend with.
Few are the Maltese writers who possess the technical and scientific background to examine this context. ' said literary critique Mario Azzopardi.
In La Bidu, La Tmiem, Alfred Sant puts Malta on the Euro-Mediterranean map of the 16th century. The book, selling at €15, will surely satisfy the large public demand there has been for this work since it sold out more than a decade ago.