The Kappillan of Malta
SynopsisPlot
As bombs pound Malta to dust, Father Salvatore--a simple priest, or kappillan, serving the poor--finds himself caught in the drama of World War Two. In the fragile safety of catacombs revealed by the explosions, he tends to the flood of homeless, starving, and frightened people seeking shelter, giving messages of inspiration and hope. His story, and that of the island, unfold in superbly graphic images of six days during the siege. "...one of the most memorable characters of postwar fiction"
Story
About this book
Nicholas Monsarrat's novel is set on the island of Malta during the Second World War, when the archipelago endured one of the longest and most concentrated aerial bombardments of the conflict. At its center is Father Salvatore, a parish priest, or kappillan, who serves the poor in his community. As the bombing intensifies and buildings collapse across the island, he finds himself sheltering displaced civilians in underground catacombs exposed by the explosions.
The narrative is structured around six specific days during the siege, each revealing a different stage of the ordeal faced by the Maltese population. Father Salvatore tends to people who have lost their homes, gone without food, and been driven underground by the relentless air raids. In the catacombs he offers what comfort he can, speaking to the frightened crowds and trying to hold a fragile sense of order together. The novel traces both his personal experience and the broader fate of the island as a whole.
Monsarrat, best known for his sea novels, spent time in Malta and drew on the island's wartime history for this book. The story treats the daily realities of siege life with close physical detail, from the damage above ground to the crowded conditions below.
