Dust of Melita set in Malta – Clare Hawkins

Submitted: 9th July 2023

A novel that takes readers on a journey through the turbulent history of Malta during World War Two…..

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Boarding Pass Information: Malta

Author guide: Clare Hawkins

Genre: historical/war

Food and drink to accompany: solider rations

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Set in Malta during WWII, this got my attention from the start. It seemed like a really fresh and interesting take on a battle in the war I admit I hadn’t really heard of. We get to follow Frank Nixon who is sent there with his fellow soldiers to be stationed on Malta when it’s at the danger of invasion.

Such a warm and beautiful small island so it seems unbelievable the interest that the Germans and Italians took in this island. Awful to read about what they did and how they terrorized the population.

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This is not just a war novel however as it’s something much more nuanced and special. The war is of course a vital factor in this story but the focus is on the men themselves – how they dealt with the unbelievable conditions in the trenches. We can all read war stories but do we ever really understand what it must have been like? I got perhaps the best sense of it here, the closest I am ever likely to witncess thank God.

It’s not all doom and gloom however as Frank meets a local woman and his journey in all of this is quite something. I felt honoured to have ‘met’ him and to have experienced a small part of the war experience. I would now love to go to Malta and go on a historical tour of some of the places mentioned within. I think this book has given me insights I couldn’t have got anywhere else.

A touching tribute to soliders everywhere.