CIORNI'S FINAL DAYS
L-Ahhar Granet ta' Ciorni
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In November 2009 Merlin Library Ltd.
published Mario Azzopardi's second volume of short stories for young adults.
L-Ahhar Granet ta' Ciorni (Ciorni's
Final Days) contains eleven pieces, with the title story referring to a black
cat (Ciorni in Russian means Black) who is at final stage of his different
lives and reminisces on his past, while his human carer watches on, sensitively
and intently.
Following the success of his first
collection in 2007, the latest anthology is doing very well and has had
excellent reviews. Like the previous volume it proves it has plenty of
potential as crossover literature, with Merlin revealing that once more, it has
been received with a lot of interest by the adult sector as well.
The following are brief
paraphrases of some of the reviews for Ciorni's Final days.
IL-MUMENT (25 October 2009)
Once more, controversy is the name
of the game in Azzopardi's new anthology of stories, where the author cuts
slice after slice of real life. This time around, his material includes
family betrayal, transvestism, homosexuality, cosmetic surgery and racism,
which lately has reared its ugly head even in Malta. There is also one piece at
least, which takes as a point of departure a well known tale (Cinderella)
which is then given a completely new direction with an unexpected twist at the
end.
- Correspondent
IN-NAZZJON (29 October, 2009):
Azzopardi' new book is intriguing in
the way the author has selected his themes, without falling into the trap of
writing a sociological or journalistic thesis. The predicaments and anxieties
of young people are treated with a poetical timbre, a master's stroke. In
this collection Azzopardi also creates a canvas of caricatures, poking
fun, for instance at sources of power, including the media and the way
technology threatens humanistic features. Running almost continuously
throughout the book is the author's war against passive thought, expressed in a
way which makes it almost impossible to put the book down. Azzopardi's new
collection gives voice to the voiceless and can find resistance from certain
quarters.
- Sergio Grech
IR-REALTA' (November 2009 issue):
Mario Azzopardi continues to be on
the side of avant-garde, provocative literature. This is an original body of
stories representing puberty not from some moralistic standpoint, but from the perspective
of young people themselves. Many authors in Malta have not accepted the fact
that a neo-realistic style is gaining more influence in our country and it
comes as no surprise that this book is widening the horizons of both literature
and local adolescents.
- Mark Camilleri
L-ORIZZONT (16 December 2009):
Mario Azzopardi has never been a
compromising writer. His poetry, for instance, has always been regarded as
built around human challenges and realities, both social and political, which
have made Malta what it is. The same goes for his recent forays in prose. His
recent collection of stories breathes new life into literature for young
adults, an anthology which betrays the pain Azzopardi suffers for his
protagonists. There are several instances when, at the end of the story, the
reader will find himself/herself at a crossroads, eager to realise which
direction should be taken to complete the magic journey. But as the reader
identifies direction, his/her feet take him elsewhere. Azzopardi
employs a literary strategy which sometimes leaves one breathless. The
arrival of Mario Azzopardi on the prose scene is serving as a catalyst.
Here he gives us yet a different collection, confirming his standing as an
author who relentlessly paints his canvas with colours which we identify
but the magic of which we cannot assess. Confronted with Azzopardi's
beliefs, our own principles surface and vanish with incredible rapidity. This
is an engaging book. Azzopardi cannot be otherwise.
- Charles Flores
THE SUNDAY TIMES (20 December 2009):
On the face of it this is a sweet little
collection of stories and snippets that are not without their share of
fun. This, however, is no ordinary humour. It is a
lump-in-the-throat laughter of one who has given up on a straightforward
project for a better world. I find it tremendously relevant in the sense
that it gives us a glimpse into what one of Malta's leading intellectuals
is brooding over. It turns out (Azzopardi) is still very angry, so much so that
he can see the funny side. (The author is implying) that three things in
particular are worth forgetting: the banalisation of the media; the escalation
of rhetoric we've witnessed during this last decade or so and (the third
target), social injustice. If our censors had some sense, they'd probably ban
this book. I doubt they will, for they seem obsessed with the perceived
vulgarity of content and little else. Save for a few liberties here and
there, Azzopardi's work is as harmless and "respectable" as it
gets. Which makes the cat among the pigeons even more lethal.
- Mark-Anthony Falzon
IT-TORCA (3 January 2010):
Although (Azzopardi's) stories are
aimed again at young adults, there is hardly any doubt these will also be
consumed by grownups. These are effectively refined narratives, with every one
of them having its own particular style, which sets them aside from
"normal" story writing. Of characteristic concern is
Azzopardi's melting of poetry into his prose while at the same time, the
reader feels like a spectator at a cinema, watching the movements of a
film. The author allows enough space for reader to interact and
imagining conclusions, making his stories extremely innovative and
different from the traditional mode. The collection is also provocative
on a "moral" plane, with the author rebelling against the way the new
powers have been treating the young as if they were electronic chips. Once
more, Azzopardi is offering compelling reading.
- Francis Galea
IN-NAZZJON (7 January 2010):
The best book which Merlin put on
the market in 2009 was Mario Azzopardi's L-Ahhar Granet ta' Ciorni.
This book represents the most thorough exercise in rare literature, provoking
young readers all the way. As always, Azzopardi gives homage to no god and
creates a national parody which bursts all the bubbles blown by those
who do their best to manipulate our emotions.
- Sergio Grech
THE SUNDAY TIMES (10 January 2010):
Mario Azzopardi's latest
offering comprises a series of short stories into which the reader is
engaged along a story-telling journey spanning a wide spectrum of
characters and situations. The author makes the reader fell as if
one is being tagged along on a peeping-Tom expedition, penetrating into
some of the innermost private thoughts of his protagonists. Several of
his narratives are presented through the eyes of young people whose plights
will strike a chord with readers' recollections of puberty. In fact, these
stories seem to suggest how, in essence, very little changes from
adolescence to adulthood. These stories can simultaneously make the
younger and older generation assimilate with them as they journal their present
(or past) worries, but they might also be a small window onto what the slightly
younger readers' future (as tomorrow's adult generation) might hold.
- Simone Spiteri
IN-NAZZJON (13 January 2010)
The intimate tone of this new book by Azzopardi is made necessary by the need of the young characters to trust somebody.
It is also a book which invites active participation on the part of readers. Azzopardi's points of departure can be shocking, whether they deal with cosmetic surgery or political rhetoric regarding the economical need for electronic systems. Even the police system comes under parodical attack when Azzopardi grotesquely describes what happens at police HQ when a young clandestine immigrant hangs himself to death. Tehnically, this is an intriguing story where the reportage technique is counterpointed by the hysterically farcical attitude of police high officers. With this publication, Merlin Library reaffirms its commitment in favour of quality literature for young adults. On his part, Azzopardi stesses once more his belief in social commitment, a responsibilty he can neither deny nor betray. This is literature which posits the author as a constant, challenging provocateur.
- Patricia Gatt
IL-MUMENT (31 January 2010)
What we have here is a group of young protagonists whose natural intelligence is in conflict with the expectations of their families, the educational system and society as a whole. Perhaps the best example of such disentachment is shownin the unusual take on the Cinderella story. Selina, a latter day Cinderella,is 'magically' transported to a disco-dance but on the stroke of midnight her mysterious patron does not appear to take her back home as promised. And so she plods back in solitude, confusion and utter delusion. In the past Azzopardi's writing has always raised various degrees of polemic and it might as well happen that this collection of short stories will find resistance from certain quarters, as when his anthology of two years ago (Alicia Speaks from the Dead) was taken to task (and banned from several school libraries) What is certainly true is that the present collection attempts once more to push young adult local literature towards truths which we can no longer negate or ignore.- Patricia Gatt