The Malta Independent on Sunday
An autobiographical novel
‘Jasmine blossoms for all time’
Author: Oliver Friggieri
Translated by Rose Marie Caruana Publisher: Allied Publications / 2008 Pages: 289
On 1 May, I wrote, perhaps too late, a review of my friend Oliver Friggieri’s autobiography, Fjuri li ma jinxfux. This novel, translated in English by Rose Marie Caruana, covers more or less the same ground with some interesting additions. It is interesting to note that both books refer to flowers in the title.
It tells us about a boy’s childhood in Floriana. Toninu, the boy’s name, is as meek, obedient and serious as Oliver was in real life.
Born in a humble and poor family in Balzunetta, that section of Floriana between the Police Headquarters and what is today the Archbishop’s Curia (formerly the Seminary), Toninu spends his time between his house and that of his grandfather. In both he finds love and nurture.
There is also the aunt, a spinster, who stayed unmarried so as to take care of her father, Toninu’s grandfather, who cared for Toninu as if he was her own son.
Life is on the whole a quiet and loving time but life too comes up with two tremendous knocks for the small Toninu – the death of his grandfather who loved him so much and told him so many stories and the stillbirth of his sister, a huge shock for the whole family.
There are other episodes from Floriana life – the beggars on the streets and the disgraceful hounding of a spinster on her wedding day.
Then the author moves on to something that I do not remember from the autobiography – his first love affair. This is preceded by two accounts of coming to terms (much against the mother’s opinion) with cinema.
There is, as I remember, no mention of this love affair, such as it was, in the autobiography except a rather confused story how he and his friends were chucked out of the Muzew (the doctrine society) and how they grew courageous and crossed over to Valletta where the young people of Malta paraded in those days and couples formed up. Maybe this covered up, in the author’s mind, his first attempt at love.