Rebbieħ tal-Premju Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb
Mill-awtur rebbieħ tal-Premju tal-Unjoni Ewropea għal-Letteratura
Illejla l-qamar ma jidhirx. U x-xita donnha ma tridx tieqaf. Bilqiegħda b’saqajja mar-radiator qed inħares mit-tieqa ‘l barra u nara l-għadajjar jittektku bla ħniena u jibdlu lewnhom ma’ kull karozza li tgħaddi mit-triq. Tfajla twila, b’għajnejha kbar, għaddejja mgħaġġla minn fuq il-bankina kollha weraq niexef imxarrab. U nixtieq inbexxaq it-tieqa u nistaqsiha tridx tgħaddi biex sakemm tbatti ftit ix-xita ngħidu storja lil xulxin. Farid, sid in-night shop ta’ quddiemi, għadu kemm ħareġ jisserraħ mal-koxxa tal-bieb taħt it-tinda tal-Marlboro. U b’sigarett f’ħalqu qed iħares lejn ix-xita. U – min jaf? – forsi qed jistennieha. Nieżla magħha. Huwa wkoll.
“A young man’s quest that seems as insatiable as it is provocative to the reader. I have honestly not been this excited by young Maltese writers since way back in the 1970s. Malta’s ever-growing cosmopolitan nature comes out like a laser beam, seeking, finding and transfixing you. Mejlak is a keen observer and a great collector of people’s hearts and moods. This book will go a long way towards confirming Mejlak as one of Malta’s top young writers. His uncluttered style and a penchant for the straightforward give him the edge in present-day Maltese Literature that is struggling albeit successfully, to claim tomorrow as a reality and not a myth.”– Charles Flores, The Times
“It’s not easy to describe Mejlak’s latest book. This is a book about being European, about being young and inquisitive; but it’s also a book about the Maltese roots that stay with us throughout our lives, making us look back at the idiosyncracies of living in a tiny island with attendant island mentality. With Qed Nistenniek Niezla max-Xita (i’m waiting for you to fall with the rain) Mejlak has grown into an artist of the written word, with a command of the modern Maltese idiom that is difficult to match.”– Manic! Magazine
“Pierre Mejlak really comes into his own as an astute narrator. As a child of the 80s, he describes what it was like growing up in a very political active household. He speaks of the political tension of the time in the matter-of-fact tone of someone who had come to see violence and thuggish behaviour as a way of life.”– Josanne Cassar (The Independent on Sunday)
“I had to read this book twice, some parts even three times, not because it is difficult to understand, but because it is addictively beautiful.”– Alex Vella Gregory, The Sunday Times
“Vibrant and forward-looking.”– The Times
“Seeing a popular jazz club jampacked with people for the launch of a book in Maltese, says a lot about how eagerly awaited Mejlak’s latest book was.”– Joe Cassar, Il-Mument
“This book marks an important development in Maltese Literature, quite simply because Maltese is being used to describe the outside world first hand in the most natural way. The resulting collection of stories is a breath of fresh air. This is poetic pop literature, refreshingly unburdended by guilt or complexes.”– David Friggieri, MaltaToday
“Mejlak casts a penetrating eye at life from the various vantage points of eternal love, pure sex, petty politics and friendship, all of which are soaked in rain, hence the title, and bereft of the peace of mind one is hopelessly looking for.”– The Weekender
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