Novel
Shadows of the Truth
Leli ta' Ħaż-Żgħir
Ġużè Ellul Mercer · 1938
Synopsis
In a small Maltese village, Leli, an intelligent, hardworking, respectful young man and a great reader, is loved by everyone, and his mother dreams of making him a priest. He befriends an older man whom the village keeps at a distance because he does not believe, and who lends him books. From one book to the next, Leli drifts away from faith and the Church, a scandal in the Malta of his time, and his philosophical reading gradually separates him from those around him.
Context
Published in 1938 by Empire Press, the novel revolves around a philosophical episode that recalls Plato's allegory of the cave, which makes it a book about reading, knowledge and books. The publisher of its English translation calls it revolutionary, because it questions the moral and political foundations of Maltese society in the early twentieth century. Godwin Ellul translated it into English in 2003, under the title Shadows of the Truth, and Isabella Ellul Cefai into Italian.
Who it is for
A novel of ideas as much as a village novel, in Maltese; it can also be read in English or in Italian.
Prizes and reception
It is regarded as a pillar of the Maltese canon, and generations of pupils have studied it.
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