Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi

by Alex Vella Gera

Genres: Fiction

528 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2012

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex Vella Gera’s novel Is-Sriep Reġgħu saru Velenużi (translation, The Snakes have become poisonous/venomous again) opens in 80’s Malta with Richard Sammut Petri, who, alongside a group of people, are planning to assassinate Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. However, this chapter is a sort of McGuffin as the book jumps to mid/late 80’s early 90’s Malta where the focus is on Richard’s eldest son Noel (now fatherless).

Through Noel, the reader experiences the political changes Malta went through. The sections in the 80’s displays the Mintoff years. As I lived in Canada during that time and visited in 1987 so I cannot really comment on that. In the 90’s my family moved to Malta and in that time The Nationalist government took over and as Malta was going through an economic boom, a new class of people started appear. Self made ones. Also Labour were developing a stigma and seen as evil. Vella Gera documents this.

Without going into too much detail Noel spends a couple of years in London, then the book jumps to the mid 00’s where he is in Brussels to working as a translator, something that occurred when Malta became an EU member in 2005. Due to circumstances Noel has to return to Malta, where he meets his schoolfriend’s sister Frances and they start to date.

Frances represents the new class of Maltese which cropped up during the Nationalist’s early years. She comes from a moneyed family, has a church school education, lives in Swieqi (an area where more affluent people stay) speaks mostly in English peppered with Maltese words, displays a benign sort of racism, has friends who comment on the defects of people and all have a blinding hatred towards Mintoff and the Labour Party. In other words she stands for everything Noel is against.

Noel himself is a complex character. He comes from a middle class family and attended a private school, thus being exposed to people like Frances (English speaking, snobbish, labour haters) and yet he does he rejects that mentality which makes him want to seek out a more genuine life, something he finds lacking in small time Maltese society. I see the reasons for his escape to London and Brussels as a coping mechanism. As a person who tries to reject Maltese society’s norms, Noel is seen a lofty individual; by Frances, his yuppie younger brother Simon, his work colleagues and extended family. Despite his mission Noel is trapped in his both his social class and Malta (or are both synonymous?) and every action he commits in order to escape just makes his situation worse, entrapping him further. In a way by stating that Noel has a mission, I am giving the impression he knows what he doing. The answer is negative, a lot of his actions are spontaneous and so his life. In one poignant scene he meets an old school friend who warns him not to be a drifter. Also add the complex he has about being fatherless for more than half his life (he actually does make attempts to find him) and you’ve got quite a multi-layered individual.

Is-Sriep Reġgħu saru Velenużi other than it’s political themes is also about fatherhood. I have already explained the missing father plotline but elsewhere Noel wonders about inherited characteristics, whether the actions of past generations repeat themselves. The book itself has many savage jabs but the daddy aspects do bring some form of relief.

I have said many times that literature has a way of expressing the some things that we find difficult to talk about. Is-Sriep… is a very blunt look at Maltese society but there are many grains of truth in Vella Gera’s depiction of upper classes. At times the story can be a bit didactic, but I do understand this is what Noel’s character is all about. On the whole this was an enlightening and powerful read. If you thought Malta was only full of sunny beaches and cheery fun loving people, Is – Sriep…. displays the more claustrophobic side of our island.

[Ends of the Word · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening of Alex Vella Gera’s 2012 novel Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi (“The Snakes Have Become Venomous Again”) takes us back to eighties Malta, in the uncertain political period just before the 1987 General Election. It starts off with a nod to the thriller genre with a would-be killer embarking on an attempt to assassinate Dom Mintoff, the redoubtable and controversial firebrand politician and Prime Minister of Malta between 1971 and 1984. Since this is not a work of alternative history, and we all know that Mintoff died of a venerable age in 2012, it is no spoiler to reveal that the assassination fails and the killer disappears. His wife and two sons, oblivious to the existence of this plot and his involvement, remain with a mystery on their hands – that of a devoted husband and father who seemingly abandons them with no prior notice. Two decades later, Noel, one of the sons, returns to Malta after stints in London and Brussels, and tries to come to terms with his past, marked by his father’s disappearance years before.

Sriep borrows much from pop culture – elements of crime, thriller and mystery add spice to the story. But ultimately, this is not a plot-driven novel and the Mintoff assassination attempt is little more than a catalyst to the novel’s central theme – namely an exploration of what it means to be Maltese. Vella Gera explores this through an original use of language. Maltese readers will be aware that in Malta “bilingualism” is fraught with class connotations. In the case of generations brought up in the 70s and 80s (and before), children from financially better-off families would generally be enrolled in private and church schools and would primarily be “English-speaking”, whereas Government school students were primarily “Maltese-speaking”. Whether one is “English” or “Maltese-speaking” therefore could be a pointer to one’s “family background”, which explains why many Maltese become so adept at “code-switching”.

The rapid sociological changes of the past years are also having an impact on this aspect of Malta and I’m not sure that this Maltese/English dichotomy is as evident or as important to young people today. However, to Noel and his generation, the choice of idiom could be tantamount to a political statement. This is why left-leaning Noel, despite his church school upbringing, markedly chooses to speak Maltese even in the company of members of his milieu who are “English speakers”.

Vella Gera conveys this concept in the most natural way possible – by having his characters speak (and think) as they would in the real world, namely in a mix of Maltese and English, subtly suggesting the inescapable link between language and thought (an idea which the late Andrea Camilleri’s used in his historical novel La mossa del cavallo). It would be interesting to see what a translator would do to achieve the same effect in another language.

Alex Vella Gera’s novel was published whilst the ruckus associated with his short story ‘Li Tkisser Sewwi’ was still in full swing. For those less familiar with Maltese goings-on, some context called for. Vella Gera wrote a short story for the University campus publication, Ir-Realtà which contained a graphic and realistic depiction of the thought processes of a sex-crazed narrator. Its perceived obscenity led to a ban of the publication and a subsequent criminal court case. Both author and editor were eventually acquitted, and this cause celebre was one of the instigators of a legal reform to Malta’s censorship laws. Unsurprisingly, Sriep has its fair share of sex, including an attempted rape scene and a chapter of Murakami-like male fantasies. I wonder if these disturbing passages would attract the same enthusiastic liberal support today as they would have done some years back. However, it is fair to say that the sex in this novel rarely feels gratuitous and generally serves as a reflection of what the characters are going through.

At over five hundred pages, the novel becomes rather rambling. However, it remains a remarkable achievement, a deserved winner at the National Book awards, and one of the most interesting novelistic explorations of Maltese language and identity.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...

[Davinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent lens on life in Malta - from imposed patriotism to a lack of belonging, to the 'language schizophrenia' we experience as bilinguals. The language used is a perfect mirror up to nature. Entirely engaging, and I don't usually read books in Maltese because they tire me out. This one definitely did not.

[Michaela Camilleri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bla dubju wiehed mill-ahjar kotba bil-Malti li qatt qrajt. Storja li tiehdok f'toroq mhux mistennija, fejn tahseb li se taqra dwar l-assassinju ta' Mintoff, u minflok, tispicca tidhol f'mohh protagonista li jhossu hati u skomdu bil-fatt li huwa membru tal-klassi tal-'english-speaking'. Naraw kunflitt kontinwu bejnu u l-membri ta' din il-faxxa tas-socjeta' li huma sinjuri, mhux bhalu, minkejja li hu "one of them".

L-uzu taz-zewg lingwi ewlenin f'dan il-ktieb huwa uniku, u minkejja li hsibt li kien se jdarrasni, irnexxielu juzahom bl-izjed mod naturali possibbli. Il-kreattivita' ta' Vella Gera ma tantx issib bhalha.

[Manny Borg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Maltese languages books !

[Daniela Grech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gera jirnexxilu jpitter bi kliemu; joħloq stampi tal-istorja bil-kliem biss. Jien u naqra dal-ktieb b’din il-kitba dettaljata u nesperjenza l-abissi tal-ħsibijiet ta Noel, għaddejt mill-istess traġitt emozzjonali li ħass hu. Fil-ferħ, fir-romantiċiżmu, fil-kriżijiet eżistenzjali li kellu, fil-karnalita`, fl-umanita` imperfetta.

F’ċerti mumenti qrajt is-sentenza darba, darbtejn, tlieta, u biex ma nħossnix qed inħalliha warajja spiċċajt nieħu n-noti (ħaġa li qatt ma kont għamiltha qabel), biex fil-futur faċilment insib dawk il-mumenti li tant laqtuni u nkun nista’ nerġa naqrahom.

Minkejja li sammarni miegħu dal-ktieb u sibt subgħajja jikluni biex inkompli naqra kull x’ħin stajt, urtani ftit il-fatt li s-sinopsi ta’ wara kienet pjuttost qarrieqa. Meta tibdieh, taqra bil-ħsieb li se tkun storja primarjament dwar il-komplott, iżda l-komplott jieħu postu fit-tieni filliera, bil-ħajja ta’ Noel fl-ewwel filliera... Sa kemm tasal fl-aħħar tal-ktieb, fejn imbagħad jistrieħu ħafna mistoqsijiet li tkun bdejt bihom, u jieħdu posthom oħrajn. Forsi kienet parti mir-raġuni għalfejn tant kont interessata nkomplieh b’daqshekk kilba biex insir naf iktar u iktar. Iżda ħassejt li xtaqt kont naf iktar dwar dak il-komplott tal-1986 fl-istess waqt li qed naqra dwar Noel, imma dik il-parti qisha ngħatat inqas importanza.

Minkejja kollox, xorta kien ktieb li qanqalni ħafna u li nirrakomdah lil kull min jixtieq jaqra rumanż bil-Malti eċċezzjonali.

[the_abinator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal-ewwel daqqa t'għajn tista' taħseb li dan ir-rumanz ħa jkun xi political thriller, xi ħaġa iktar viċin Kapitali ta' Wayne Flask. Imma fil-verità spiċċa studju psikoloġiku uniku, idjosinkratiku u fil-istess ħin universali. Hemm żewġ stejjer hawn, ta' żewġ missierijiet li qatt ma jiltaqgħu. Żewġ ħajtiet maqgħudin f'xulxin imma fil-istess ħin linji paralleli mexjin infinitament mingħajr qatt ma jiltaqgħu. Il-karattru ċentrali huwa dak ta' Noel, karattru li għal ħafna huwa persuna li mhux faċli tempatizza miegħu. Jien empatizzajt ħafna minkejja l-imġieba diżgustanti tiegħu (speċjalment lejn in-nisa), għax meta jkollok ċertu personality traits, ċertu pitfalls psikoloġiċi, tagħrafhom u tagħdirhom f'ħaddieħor. Minkejja dan, naħseb m'hemmx għalfejn tgħaddi mill-istess trawmi ta' Noel biex tifhmu. Jekk qatt ħassejt il-klawstrofobija ta' Malta, is-schizophrenia ta' żewġ lingwi, żewġ identitajiet, żewġ vuċijiet f'moħħok sakemm tibda taħseb li ma hemm postok imkien Malta...(Jew barra), tista' tempatizza ma' Noel. Bħala narrativa psikoloġika ta' xi ħadd Malti u barrani fih innifsu dan ir-rumanz jaħdem perfettament. Ftit nista' nsib problemi apparti forsi l-aħħar kapitlu kien forsi kemmxejn twil. Rumanz ta' 523 paġna u taqraw f'sekonda għax il-lingwa u narrativa mexxejja ħafna, speċjalment meta l-qrid ta' Noel jieqaf u r-rumanz jilħaq il-qofol tieghu. Jien domt naqrah dan il-ktieb biss għax tant kien diffiċli għalija nara xi ħadd jagħmel tant żbalji f'ħajtu. Nixtieq ħafna ħafna li Noel sab postu fid-dinja sal-aħħar tar-rumanz. Naf biċ-ċert li AVG ma kellux tama għal Noel, imma jien fadalli ftit, minkejja li naf li probabbli kollox ħa jispiċċa ħażin, inżomm it-tama li l-affarijiet jistgħu jinbidlu.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been yearning for a good Maltese book. The ones I've read have been mostly disappointing or to a certain extent childish, so it was a pleasant surprise how good a read this book was.

Multilayered with a lot of topics reflective of the Maltese culture that, as an expat, resonated; the claustrophobic feel of the island, the political and lingual divisions to name just a few. The candid style it was written in, a mix of Maltese-English that many can relate to, made it a very digestible and captivating read.

However, I felt that the author didn't quite pull it off in the end. Thought the whole Mintoff plot, whilst a good catalyst (and probably a good sales pitch for the local market), felt a bit unnecessary and left more questions than answers. It was also rambling in parts, where I felt the author was trying to be too clever. Also, I felt the ending too could have been executed better, it left me ambivalent, which is a shame.

Nonetheless, these are all mere quibbles. The book is a cornerstone of Maltese literature.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opinjoni personali: Mhux l-istil tiegħi. Kelli aspettattivi kbar wara li qrajt l-ewwel ftit kapitli dwar il-kumplott dwar l-assassinju ta' Mintoff. Però il-ktieb infexx fit-tul fuq aspetti dwar relazzjonijiet u ħsibijiet intimi li tellfuli l-entużjażmu. Kont qed nistenna aktar thriller u inqas drama.

Il-ktieb tajjeb. Jidħol f'dettall profond dwar il-ħsieb tal-Malti middle class b'fehmiet politiċi xellugin u tal-Malti sinjur u kapitalista bil-kumplessi ta' superjorità f'kollox u bil-prinċipju mnaqqax ta' li bil-flus tagħmel kollox u tasal kullimkien. Bla dubju ktieb li jirrappreżenta lil Malta u lil Maltin u jikxef aspetti partikolari tal-identità Maltija bil-kruha tagħha b'kollox inklużi id-dualiżmu u d-diviżjoni u l-mibgħeda bejn żewġ partiti politiċi prinċipali.

[Ahmed ِAbdel Gawad · Rating 5 out of 5]

في هذه الرواية الرائعة يسرد الكاتب فكرة كيف يؤثر ماضي الإنسان البعيد في طفولته علي حياته كشخص بالغ.. كيف لحدث واحد في مرحلة الطفولة يمكن أن يشكل حياة شخص كاملة، ويؤثر في كل قراراته وعلاقاته بأفراد اسرته وزملاؤه في العمل وزوجته وابنه، وكذلك مصيره.. يعيش بطل الراوية حياة منغلقة معقدة يسردها الكاتب ببراعة في مراحل زمنية مختلفة، وعلي الرغم من ضخامة الرواية إلا أن أسلوب الكاتب السلس وتعبيره عن دواخل النفس والأفكار والمشاعر المتضاربة ببراعة فائقة مع لمسة من التشويق، يجعلك تتابع الرواية باستمتاع واهتمام وبشغف حتي النهاية
ولا تنسي طبعا شكر دار المحروسة علي اختيارها لروايات متميزة دائماً، والتي أصدرت أيضا من قبل رواية رائعه أخري لنفس المؤلف وهي رواية "طروادة"، وبالطبع نشكر المترجم علي ترجمته الاكثر من رائعه الرواية

[Manuel Mangani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Għoġobni, għalkemm ħafna mix-xeni ta' sess u d-dagħwa kienu żejda u ma kkontribwew xejn għall-ekonomija tal-plot. Lanqas ma kienu meħtieġa għall-għarfien tal-personalità tal-protagonista jew ta' karattri oħra.

Il-lingwaġġ Malti huwa influwenzat ħafna mill-Ingliż u mhux qed ngħid għall-espressjonijiet u sentenzi sħaħ bl-Ingliż li bihom il-ktieb huwa miżgħud. Bqajt ma stajtx niddeċiedi jekk dan kienx mezz ta' kif l-awtur ried ifakkarna kontinwament fil-konverżjoni soċjo-lingwistka tal-protagonista minn membru tal-klassi medja-għolja għal bniedem b'ideat xellugin, jew inkella hux għaliex l-awtur innifsu jaħseb u jikteb b'dan il-mod.

[Christopher Dimech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strorja tajba u izzommok taqra. Nahseb it-tmiem seta' kien ahjar.

[Matlene Kind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nirrakomadah bil-qalb! Ktieb verament tajjeb u realista immenss

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a good book, deep character analysis. Nice build-up but end of the novel is rather disappointing - it is vague, devoid of a proper sense of ending.

[Heba Ahmed Tawfik · Rating 2 out of 5]

قبل أن أكتب مراجعتي،
النجمتان تقييم للمائتي صفحة التي خَلُصت إلي قراءتها من مجموع يقارب الخمسمائة صفحة،
تخطيت فيها ما يعادل ثلاثمائة صفحة من التجاوزات الفجة في وصف العلاقات غير المبرر علي الإطلاق من أجل إيصال فكرة عدم إتزان وخلل ما ربما في البطل الرئيسي للقصة نويل نتاج ما نشأ فيه من تشتت فكري أدي إلي عدم إنتماءه في وطنه وبخارجه.

تدور معظم أحداث الرواية في مدينة فاليتا عاصمة مالطا،
ليسرد بها الكاتب تلك الحقبة من ثمانينات القرن الماضي إلي بدايات الألفية الثانية، خلال فترة حكم الزعيم العمالي والإشتراكي منتوف، بين مؤيدٍ ومعارضٍ لفكرِه،وعنصرية بين الصغار تفوق ما بينها لدي الكبار.

لا أنكر أن الجزء الذي قرأته كان ثريا جدا بالمعاني والمشاعر الإنسانية وهذا ما جعلني أتخطي ما أزعجني وأكملها،
ومع هذا لا أقوي علي ترشيحها وتمنيت ألا يفسدها الكاتب بتجاوزاته تلك المبالغ فيها.
حبيت أكتب هذه المراجعة لتنبيه من هم مثلي ممن قد يزعجهم مثل تلك النوعية من الكتابات التي من وجهة نظري المتواضعة لا أقنع بها كواقعية ولا أراها تضيف شيئا يذكر إلي سياق الدراما وبالأخير الإختيار لكم.

[Rowena Grech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisq. Wisq. Wisq. Mhuwiex ktieb li taqrah darba u daqsek. Iżda kelli niddevorah sabiex nasal sat-tmiem tiegħu. Sibt lili nnifsi mhux darba jew tnejn f'mumenti fejn kont waqaft naqra u bqajt ninkwieta għal Noel.

Kapolavur. Bħal kull ktieb ieħor ta' Alex. Għalkemm naħseb dan sar il-favorit wara l-Antipodi.

[Rebekah Mallia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kont kemmxejn iddiżappuntata. Stennejt li l-ktieb ser jkun fuq il-komplott, biss din ingħatat ftit kapitli mill-ktieb sħiħ. Inħoss li deskrizzjoni fil-qoxra ta wara tal-ktieb ma tirriflettix l-istorja ta ġol-ktieb. Minkejja kollox stajt inħoss dak li verament kien qed iħoss Noel.

Ktieb li għalkemm wieġeb il-maġġoranza tal-mistoqsijiet, inħoss li kien hemm mistoqsijiet li ma ġewx mwieġba.

[Sarah Galea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel which renders man's condition as a hopeless one from the moment of conception to the inevitable end. I could certainly appreciate how Noel both loathed and adored himself at all once. I did not care for the sexual content however, I can understand why they were included to some extent.

[هبة الله · Rating 1 out of 5]

كلها مشاهد +18 بتفاصيل مقرفة غير مهمة للسياق على الإطلاق، لا أنصح بقراءتها.
إذا كنت مصر على قراءتها فأنصحك بتخطي كل هذه المشاهد حتى لا تأخذ ذنوب.