Il-Manifest tal-Killer

by Karl Schembri

Genres: Fiction

240 pages

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Karl Schembri, born in 1978, is a novelist and poet who branched out of investigative journalism into the humanitarian field, all the while maintaining a healthy literary output. His first published work appeared in 1997 with the self-published poetry anthology Frekwenzi ta’ Spirti fis-Sakra (Frequencies of Drunken Spirits). Next came the short story collection Taħt il-Kappa tax-Xemx (Under the Sun, Minima) in 2002, which placed Schembri in the roster of alternative literary voices gathered under the umbrella of the short-lived but deeply influential micro-publisher Minima. But it was the release of his debut novel Il-Manifest tal-Killer (Choppy Books, 2006) which secured his position as a notable and urgent literary voice, even leading veteran author Mario Azzopardi to describe it as the first truly “anarchist” work of Maltese literature. Telling the story of a group of young misfits banding together to push back against the dominant political narrative through subversive action, the novel fictionalises into satire the real-life strands of political corruption, moral hypocrisy and institutional complacency which Schembri often found himself tackling during his years as a journalist for national media.

Schembri’s professional life would continue to expand and evolve – he branched out into international journalism, and relocated from Malta in 2009 to work as a journalist with a Palestinian news agency in occupied Palestine, before assuming media-adjacent roles in humanitarian institutions such as Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council. His poetry and short fiction would go on to appear in various anthologies, both local and international. And yet, the legacy of Il-Manifest tal-Killer continues to tower over Schembri’s literary reputation, as evidenced by it being privy to a rare phenomenon in Maltese publishing: a freshly reissued edition arriving in 2020 from the prestigious Merlin Publishers, no less. Schembri claims the novel has now come “full circle”, confirming that Malta’s institutionally stagnant political system remains ripe for satire with the same tools he employed back in 2006, despite apparent – and largely cosmetic – changes having occurred on the scene since.

But 2020 was as much about experimentation as it was about revisitation. Also for Merlin Publishers, Schembri collaborated with illustrator Alice Samuel for the picture book for children - It-tifel li salva d-dinja (The boy who saved the world, Merlin Publishers, 2020)– which speaks to Schembri's versatility as an author, capable of transforming a ‘napkin idea’ originally sketched at a Cairo cafe back in 2013 into a universal and slyly complex story about a lonely boy forging an imaginary friendship with the sun. The Lulu Diaries (Ede Books, 2020) adds a further kink to Schembri's recent publication history, being a poetry book inspired by a kitten which accidentally dropped into the author’s life while he was living in Gaza in 2012.

Karl Schembri is now based in Nairobi, Kenya, where he lives with wife Simine and son Salman, their dog Mitti and cats Munzer and Mario.

Reviews

[Ends of the Word · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, funny, irreverent and (alas) still topical - if imperfect - novel.

Full review at: https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...

[Stefania Damato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il-mod li bih Schembri jiddeskrivi l-awtoritajiet u s-sistemi governattivi lokali, għalkemm esaġerat u huwa ftit jew wisq parodija, għadu japplika sal-lum, u forsi iktar minn qatt qabel bil-klima politika kurrenti.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intelliġenti u mexxej ħafna. Għalkemm hu traġi-komiku, in-narazzjoni u l-kitba ta' Schembri hija fattwali anke illum, 16 il-sena wara l-ewwel pubblikazzjoni.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very disappointing read. Bought off the strong reviews on here and had high hopes for it, but it was such a let down. Started off as I hoped it would continue; hard hitting satire laced with criticism of the authorities and institutions. At some point, it took a turn to the banal and never veered back. Shame.

[Mark Anthony Bugeja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tal-genn!!

[Sylvana Zarb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tajtu 5 stilel. L-għala? Qrajtu fil-perjodu preċiż, li ħassejtni qiegħda nirribella u nitkellem waħdi. Fil-mument preċiż meta ċedejt l-armi u ammettejt li ninsab waħdi dwar kif naħsibha fuq ħafna suġġetti. Qrajtu wara ħafna snin li rrealizzajt li l-letteratura Maltija m'għadx trid turi sens ta' ribell mingħajr tqanżiħ. Kemm jien antipatka hux? Imma b'hekk sibt ruħi waħdi. Insomma ... Fuq il-ktieb. Qarja leġġera, mexxejja, bla sforz imqanżaħ, kollox jinħass naturali, bla messaġġi mqanżħa jew b'xi folla massiva warajhom iċċapċap. Qrajt l-edizzjoni tal-2020. Ta' min jaqrah, kont ili ma ngawdi ktieb bil-Malti pur, b'Malti tajjeb, Malti tal-poplu, ktieb li jtik dak l-iskoss ta' tama li forsi le mhux waħdi, 'mhux nitlef moħħi'.

[Maxine Tanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personalment għalija hu wieħed mill-iktar kotba tajbin hawn Malta u jistħoqqlu jinqara minn udjenza ikbar. Ir-realtà tat-temi li kiteb fiha Schembri fl-2005 nista' ngħid li għadhom attwali ħafna llum, fl-2020. Toħroġ ukoll bil-qawwi l-kultura kwotidjana Maltija u l-passività minn naħa u minn naħa oħra, proċess għall-bidla radikali. Ktieb tal-ġenn.

[Josephine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inkiteb meta kont il-Junior College/l-ewwel sena l-Università jien, u għalhekk ċertu lingwaġġ u atmosfera ġabuli ċerta nostalġija! Il-ħaġa traġika hi li l-argumenti tiegħu għadhom attwali ħafna!

[Deborah Camilleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bhala qarrej Malti, insibha difficli immens insib ktieb bil-Malti illi jolqotni. Pero dan il-ktieb huwa wiehed mill-ftit kotba li zgur u cert nista nerga naqra hames drabi ohra. Il-Manifest tal-Killer nemmen li huwa wiehed mill-ftit kotba bil-Malti illi jidhlu f'temi kontroversjali pero relevanti, u nemmen li ghandu bzonn jinqara minn hafna iktar Maltin