These are strange times where a lot of people have more time on their hands then they normally would. Some are finding solace in books and reading. Through Have You Read This? (Dan Qrajtu?) we're looking to find new, interesting titles by checking in with local authors to see what they're reading and which books they recommend. This week, we've spoken to Ramona Depares. What are you reading right now and can you describe these books? These are strange days indeed, and I’ve found myself being comforted by re-reading old favourites. Maybe it’s because their familiarity make me feel like I’m going back to an old friend. A few months ago I went to one of the book sales and, luckily before all this started I managed to get quite a nice stash of classics. At the moment I have just finished re-reading David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks, which is very ironically appropriate for the climate we are living in. Although Mitchell is perhaps better known for Cloud Atlas, I found The Bone Clocks to be a much more human and relatable tale. We have a runaway teenager, some fantastical super powers, love, lust, an apocalyptic scenario and climate change. Mitchell is a master at conjuring human emotions on a very deep level and, somehow, despite the improbability of the tale, it actually reflects the current zeitgeist. Another reason I enjoyed it is because it is a chunk of a novel, typical Mitchell style. A great book keeps you engrossed, suspends your disbelief and propels you right into this new world that the author built for us. And when I’m enjoying it this much, naturally I don’t want to leave this world. Which means that the thicker the book, the better. The downside is that I end up totally taken up by this other world, and then I tend to find it difficult to move on to a new book right after I’ve been so immersed in something else. Reading multiple books at a time is not for me, in fact, unless I’m doing it for professional reasons. I want to give my undivided attention to whatever is happening on the pages in front of me. Still, I have now moved on to a Penguin collection of Roald Dahl short stories for adults, all of which I got from this same book sale. The collection is dark, sometimes funny, and revolves around the sins of human nature. So, we have Lust, Madness, Cruelty, War, Innocence, Fear, Deception etc I believe that all the stories have been extrapolated from other Dahl collections, and grouped according to theme, which makes for a very interesting reading experience. The most amazing thing about them is that even though you’re essentially reading multiple stories focused on the same element, Dahl somehow manages to surprise me with an unexpected twist every time. I guess this is why he is so celebrated, he really manages to dig deep into human nature with every story, exploring facets that maybe some of us may prefer not to spend too much time thinking of. Which book or books do you recomment to people during quarantine and why? The answer to this question depends entirely on their personality. Many are currently undergoing periods of anxiety and stress, and might not necessarily appreciate the topics that, say, David Mitchell deals with. And Dahl might actually be too dark for some. My advice is to find a theme that they are fond of and that they know will give them an escape from reality for a couple of hours. Whether that is a love story or a post-apocalyptic tale is totally up to them – that is the beauty of books, you can choose your preferred escape route. Ramona Depares is a writer and an award-winning journalist. She held the role of Features Editor and Head of News at The Times of Malta for a number of years and was also the editor of the monthly English language magazine Sunday Circle. She now runs her own website, www.ramonadepares.com, focusing on culture in Malta. Last year she published her first book, a collection of free-verse poetry in Malta titled Beltin: Stejjer Minn Nies Minsija. The photo at the top of the article is by Alan Carville and was given the pop-art treatment by Alexia Coppini.
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