Godwin Ellul

 

To those who are familiar with the Maltese literary scene, Alfred Massa is no newcomer. A teacher of Maltese by profession, as well as poet, novelist and editor, he was the co-founder of the Malta Poets' Association in the mid-70s, together with the late Rev. Dr Amante Buontempo,  an author of several poetical works.

In the opening paragraph to this work and based on definitions provided by the learned Erin Serracino Inglott, Massa draws a distinction between the novel and the short story. He says that a short story 'is an event, a written tale, on the shape of a novel but shorter in length; a story more or less short which isn't true, but which is not a fable.' (Il-Miklem Malti, vol vi, p. 316). 'In other words, the short story is distinguished from the novel by its length, but we cannot say that it is a short novel because the narrative forms are distinct from each other.' (my translation).

 In this new work, Massa, through a series of short stories, takes on the difficult task of explaining in a simple manner the complexities of life itself. However, the real aim of the author is not only that of explaining and providing pleasure to the reader when reading these short stories, but most importantly, of non philosophically transmitting the values of life.

In this volume one finds a collection of 21 short stories characterized by unparalleled simplicity, in which even dogs converse with one another.

In the preface to this work the author states that 'these are short stories written through a stretch of forty years and more, I tried to choose a variety of subjects based on characters of everyday life and for them I created a short story. I must say that I gave more importance to the event than to the character.' (p. 5) In this regard they seem to be a testament of wisdom which the author would like to share with those around him especially with the younger generation. Above all, they are stories that reflect human weakness and fragility.

For this reason in these stories one finds a conglomeration of different shades of life in Malta that are both familiar to the reader and at times sad. They intend to show the realities and dilemmas of everyday life. In these short stories, Massa appears to us as a romantic writer where the environment is sensitive to human feelings and reflects the condition of the human heart. However, in essence, the fulcrum of Massa's writings is destiny and precisely the destiny of the human being.

For this reason, throughout these short stories, Massa is always on the lookout to examine the contrasts of life. In the short story 'Kuntrasti' he says, 'I also like the ups and downs of life...above all, if it weren't for contrasts in life, we wouldn't have been able to choose between what is beautiful and ugly, between happiness and sadness, and even between good and bad.' (p. 51) (my translation).

Massa's philosophy, although simple, is very significant. Its simplicity and strategy often reminds us of Pirandello...the man who had the ability 'to change psychological analysis into good theatre' where his tragic comedies are considered as the precursors to the Absurd.

 

Massa is a sincere friend of the Maltese language and his love towards our country, language and literature emanates from the very heart of these short stories in the hope of influencing others.