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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JANUARY 2020 10 CULTURE BOOKS Book Review Luciano THE novel is set in Malta at the turn of the century. The story begins to unfold in 1897 on a farm belonging to two sis- ters in Wied Babu, a remote valley nes- tled on the south coast. Here, two households co-exist peace- fully together: that of the younger sis- ter Susanna with her husband Dwardu and their baby daughter Bettina, and the other of Mattea, the elder sister, and her husband Peppin, Dwardu's el- der brother, who are still childless after several years of marriage. Destiny intervenes when a baby boy is born in mysterious circumstances in that same locality and Mattea finally has a baby to nurture as her own. But who is this baby Luciano, really and truly? On the cusp of adulthood, Luciano fi- nally learns about his birth mother, but the identity of his real father remains a complete mystery. He is a young man when the First World War breaks out and brings un- foreseen changes to the lives of these two families. But more is to come when the Span- ish Flu epidemic, riding in the wake of war, ravages Europe and hundreds die in Malta. Luciano and Bettina, who had believed they were cousins, find themselves drawn to each other. Bettina becomes a doctor and runs the grave risk of falling prey to the dreaded flu. What will happen to this pair of lov- ers? Will Luciano ever find out about his real father? THE National Book Council is an- nouncing the dates and the special guests for this year's Campus Book Festival. The seventh edition of the Festival will take place between Wednesday 25 and Friday 27 March at the University of Malta Quadrangle, in collaboration with Għaqda tal-Mal- ti - Università and the Department of English Students Association (DESA). American poet and memoirist Mark Doty will be attending the Campus Book Festival this year. Do- ty was the first American to win the T.S. Eliot Prize in the UK in 1995, and in 2008 he won the National Book Award bil-ktieb Fire to Fire: new and selected poems (Harper- Collins, 2008). He's the author of several poetry books, amongst which Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (D.R. Godine, 1991), A Swarm, A Flock, A Host: A Compendium of Creatures (Prestel, 2013), and Deep Lane (W.W. Norton, 2015), and memoirs and nonfiction books such as Firebird (HarperCollins, 1999), Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy (Beacon Press, 2000) and Dog Years (Harper- Collins, 2007). Doty has often been compared to James Merrill, Walt Whitman and C.P. Cavafy for his el- egant, intelligent verse. Doty will be engaged in three spe- cial events at the Festival, one per day. On Wednesday 25 March he will be part of a panel discussing queer literature; on Thursday 26 March he will be participating at a book-club session with University students; and on Friday 27 March Doty will be interviewed on his lit- erary and nonliterary output. Later on the day Mark will be one of the readers during an Open-Mic session organised by Inizjamed, which this year round will be themed around literature of protest and will be ac- companied by music of protest. In collaboration with the Depart- ment of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies, the Cam- pus Book Festival 2020 will also host an interview with translation theorist and scholar of comparative literature Prof. Susan Bassnett. She will be interviewed by Prof. Clare Vassallo. Author of over 20 books, Prof. Bassnett's Translation Studies, which first appeared in 1980, has re- mained in print ever since and has become an important international textbook in this field. Her Comparative Literature (1993) has also become internationally re- nowned and has been translated into several languages. Her most recent books are Political Discourse, Media and Translation (2010), co-edited with Cristina Schaeffner, and Reflec- tions on Translation (2011). Beside her academic research, and writing for several national newspapers, Su- san Bassnett also writes poetry. The purpose of the Campus Book Festival is to promote literature across the board while, at the same time, giving publishers and book distributors a space in which they can sell and promote their publica- tions with a mature audience, such as post-secondary and tertiary students. A vast programme of activities will be put up during the festival, ranging from workshops and films related to literature, to readings and interviews with authors, and illustrators – as well as language discussions, guided tours around the University Library, live music and a number of collabora- tions with student organisations. The programme of activities will be out soon. Follow the NBC's website and Campus Book Festival Facebook page for the latest updates. The Campus Book Festival 2020 to be held on 25 to 27 March