Ambrogio and Selene appear to be a stable, well-adjusted couple. Out of the goodness of their heart they adopt a boy. Eliodoro - a transsexual. Beneath the well-to-do, comfortable veneer of their home life, however, lurk deep, strange, disturbing secrets.
Who knew that Ambrogio is tormented by perverse carnal desires? Who could even begin to imagine what he went through to suppress these same desires in his youth?
Why does this family run an underground porn studio and modelling agency for teenagers, mostly vulnerable Ukrainians?
What does Ambrogio feel the need to join the Masons?
Who are the Illuminati? Who is 'Papa'? Where does the New World Order come in? And what of the one religion for all which was slowly but surely meant to replace Christianity?
Nadifa, a Syrian girl who lives in Malta with her father and two older brothers, finds herself embroiled with these bizarre and dangerous people. What can she do to escape them and the fate of girls just like her who came before her?
F'Ħalq il-Lupu is the eleventh piece of work penned in Maltese by Carmel Scicluna. It is his fourth novel and the third published by Horizons. Scicluna has been publishing books for the last twenty years. His first was a collection of horror stories written on an Antares 135 typewriter. He finished it when he was 23 years old, shortly after he graduated in Pharmacy. His second book came out two years later. In 1997. It was called Għall-Imħabba ta' Lesbjana. The book caused an uproar, mainly because of two stories - one about children abused during a satanic orgy and the other about two lesbians. Some critics raved about it, others slammed it. The Central Public Library at Belt is-Sebħ censored it and a number of bookshops would not carry it. The author was rebuked for writing about 'confused people.' This was the first time that an author had dared publish a book with 'lesbian' in the title. In spite of all the hue and cry the book was a bestseller and there are no more copies available in the bookstores. Scicluna mulled over the reaction his second book had received for seven years. That's when he changed direction and started to write more challenging literary works. In Nofs Mudlam he introduced the themes he would continue to expound upon. The notion of identity and identity crises; sexuality and eroticism; social parody; people in the fringes of society; violence in all its forms. Publishers were often wary of publishing his work, often because of its content but sometimes because they calculated that they would not be able to recoup the printing costs.
The author donated the following books to the Central Public Library at Belt is-Sebħ: Miss Wilma (short stories, 2011); Lavberds (novel, 2011); Barney l-Ispiżjar (novel, 2012) u Jasmina (poems, 2013). Ossessjoni was a short, disturbing novel about a paedophile whose obsession with a school girl has tragic consequences. The book was received very well by critics and readers of all ages. The author was awarded first prize by the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb u tal-Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. The book was published by Merlin. In 2014 Carmel Scicluna published Kummidjanti tal-Parlament, stories which poke fun at some local members of parliament. The following book, Feruti, published in the same year, is a collection of heart-rending stories about vulnerable people who have been to hell and back.
F'Ħalq il-Lupu will appeal to both the reader who simply likes a good read and to the more discerning reader who has a critical bent and who looks for a stimulating and thought-provoking read. F'Ħalq il-Lupu can either be read as a thriller, a story full of twists and turns which cannot be put down until all is revealed at the end. Or as a contemporary novel, rich in literary devices such as foreshadowing, symbolism, metaphors and motifs recurring throughout the chapters. The names of the main characters are laden with meaning and the structure of the story itself reflects the psychological schism within two of the book's main characters.
F'Ħalq il-Lupu is published by Horizons and is available in all local bookshops. Do not miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in an engaging if somewhat challenging work of literature.