Ir-ritorn ta’ Clare Azzopardi għal-letteratura għall-adulti
Immaġinak issib ċavetta b’indirizz magħha u taf li din iċ-ċavetta ddaħħlek għand Sandra. X’tagħmel? Jew immaġinak tiltaqa’ ma’ Helen li taħdem il-British Shoe Store, tgħidlek l-istorja ta’ Gracey liebsa libsa tkanġi fl-aħmar. Imxattra. Antika. Temminha? Inkella tiltaqa’ ma’ Camilla u tgħidlek li qatlitu hi, qattgħetu f’biċċiet u ħarġitu f’borża wara l-bieb.
Hemm tmien nisa mkeffna f’dawn l-istejjer, tmien nisa magħluqa fis-silenzju tal-paġni ta’ dan il-ktieb li ħadd ma jaf bihom. Hemm dar il-Belt u oħra l-Isla; hemm waħda Bormla u oħra l-Gżira. Anki huma kompliċi. Hemm Roża, hemm Helen, hemm Gracey, hemm Rita, hemm Margaret, hemm Polly. Imbagħad hemm ħafna silenzju u isem migruf ma’ ħajt jew fuq bankina, fuq pum ta’ bieb jew fil-latrina.
Clare Azzopardi
Wara 25 sena tgħallem il-letteratura Maltija, Clare Azzopardi ddeċidiet li titlaq kollox u tibda kapitlu ġdid. Ma tafx kemm se jkun twil dal-kapitlu, u lanqas jimpurtaha wisq dment li qed tiktbu hi. L-importanti li magħha hemm Albert, karattru importanti ħafna fl-istorja ta’ ħajjitha; l-importanti li hemm il-kotba tal-kittieba li tħobb (sintendi ma tistax iġġorrhom kollha, imma ġa ġarret ħafna); l-importanti li hemm is-siġar ħodor u kbar qishom ġganti; ir-russetti u ċ-ċikonji bla ebda biża’ li jaqilgħu tir; l-importanti li hemm is-skiet u ftit li xejn krejnijiet.
clareazzopardi.comritratt meħud minn Giola CassarAra aktar
“This is a collection to be read by all those who are still convinced that none of our authors can write as well as some of the best English and American short story writers.”— Paul Xuereb, The Malta Independent on Sunday
“If we had to put Clare Azzopardi into a category, it would be ‘Superhero-writers’ … Azzopardi has a unique talent of combining literary aesthetic with political activism. For this reason we believe her work should cross national frontiers.”— Luka Ostojic, Literature Across Frontiers
“… Clare li tirrakkonta ma tippużax quddiem il-weġgħat u t-traġedji ta’ dawk li żżur. Ma tibdilx lilha nfisha fi protagonista minkejja l-kuntatt, iżda tinsab hemm, tempatizza u titlobna nissimpatizzaw ma’ dawn in-nisa li anki jekk imġibthom mhux dejjem tinħass jew titqies leġittima, hemm storja mnikkta warajha.”— Immanuel Mifsud, Illum
“You could say that emarginisation is a common theme to all of Azzopardi’s stories. None of the women are your run-of-the-mill characters. They are strong, strange, obsessive, stubborn, yes, but never ordinary. And when placed in an ordinary, everyday setting the strength and attraction of their personality can’t but shine through. Azzopardi’s book might not be the militantly feminist prose that we associate with the term. It is certainly, however, a tribute to real women.”— Ramona Depares, The Sunday Times of Malta
“Maybe it’s too early in the year to commit myself but I’m taking the plunge: Ms Azzopardi, with Kulħadd Ħalla Isem Warajh, has raised the local literary stakes very high and it’s going to be extremely hard to top this one.”— Noel Tanti
eBOOK
