Such goings-on… and on Gozo too

A Thorne in the Flesh is the latest novel to come off the word processer of the Anglo/Maltese novelist, E.L Darbishire. Set in Eastern England and Gozo, it tells the coming-of-age story of its 22 year-old protagonist Simon Thorne. While it never pretends to take itself too seriously, the book nonetheless takes an insightful look at the growing pains of a young millennial thrust feet first into a milieu which is totally alien.

Equally important to the story’s development is the character of Tessa a much married British woman of indeterminate vintage and with chutzpah in spades. Acquiring a title (Lady Birkhampton), by dint of a short term marriage to a dilettante aristocrat, she sets out to give Simon a somewhat different education to the one that the University of East Anglia has just bestowed on him.

The fast moving narrative takes Simon (and the reader) to the sun-drenched island of Gozo, where our hero winds up in a somewhat compromising position, as the “star” of a number of, what can only be described as rather kinky porno movies.

Darbishire’s success is to convince us that this rather unlikely scenario is indeed more than plausible. With the skill of a seasoned story-teller he shepherds the reader through a series of vignettes, which point up the considerable frailties of human nature.

The many disparate characters are well drawn and often fascinating. Baz, the high camp ex-pat friend of Tessa’s is a particularly striking example. Formerly a wardrobe supervisor for several feature films, he is the director of all the movies in which Simon “stars”. Among a supporting cast of characters are a geriatric Barunessa, a number of Maltese and Gozitans, plus sundry ex-pat settlers and the president of Malta.

Above all else, A Thorne in the Flesh is a rattling good yarn and ideal summer reading. It is available in paperback in most bookshops in Malta and Gozo.