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Man at Sea
"requite (verb): to return love and affection or, on the other side of the coin, to retaliate for injuries inflicted.”
MALTA 1941. Eleven-year-old Joe Zarb's life is about to change. The war has created a rubble-strewn, dogfight-watching, soldier-saluting adventure, until a telegram arrives with news of his papa, Victor, that will shatter everything.
Twenty years later, with Malta seeking independence from the British Empire, a nurse and a former RAF pilot travel to the island. Beth is looking for Joe, the son of her wartime husband, Victor. Her companion, Stuart, is seeking revenge for the horrific burns he suffered in the war. When they find Joe and a man purporting to be his papa, a chain of events is set in motion that sheds new light on what happened two decades before...
MALTA 1941. Eleven-year-old Joe Zarb's life is about to change. The war has created a rubble-strewn, dogfight-watching, soldier-saluting adventure, until a telegram arrives with news of his papa, Victor, that will shatter everything.
Twenty years later, with Malta seeking independence from the British Empire, a nurse and a former RAF pilot travel to the island. Beth is looking for Joe, the son of her wartime husband, Victor. Her companion, Stuart, is seeking revenge for the horrific burns he suffered in the war. When they find Joe and a man purporting to be his papa, a chain of events is set in motion that sheds new light on what happened two decades before...
230 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 11, 2022
This atmospheric tale of wartime love and loss in Malta is extremely well written, with a sense of past regret and guilt amongst the main characters as they finally deal with revelations 20 years later. Plot twists keep it intriguing to the end. Only one complaint - I could have spent longer in the places and with the characters, it was over too quickly!
July 6, 2022
A wonderful wartime novel with a fresh perspective, which is no mean feat in 2022. Really tight plot, and beautiful writing throughout. Bell only getting better with each book.
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August 29, 2022
Historical fiction, set in a war torn Malta, 1941. The war has created rubble-strewn streets and 11-year-old Joe has just received devastating news of his father, Victor.
Meanwhile, 20 years later, Beth is looking for Joe, the son of her war-time husband Victor. Her companion, Stuart, is seeking revenge from the horrific burns he suffered as a result of a sabotaged aeroplane crash during the war.
I enjoyed this and was able to learn about the war from a new perspective. The suspense and twists kept me interested throughout, eager to find out what had happened to Joe’s father. I only wish that it would have delved deeper into characters as I didn’t feel too attached or emotional when that final blow came. But overall an interesting read. Thanks @flyonthewall_poetry for my copy!
Meanwhile, 20 years later, Beth is looking for Joe, the son of her war-time husband Victor. Her companion, Stuart, is seeking revenge from the horrific burns he suffered as a result of a sabotaged aeroplane crash during the war.
I enjoyed this and was able to learn about the war from a new perspective. The suspense and twists kept me interested throughout, eager to find out what had happened to Joe’s father. I only wish that it would have delved deeper into characters as I didn’t feel too attached or emotional when that final blow came. But overall an interesting read. Thanks @flyonthewall_poetry for my copy!
March 20, 2023
A great read. Well written.
May 10, 2025
The setting of Malta, jeweled fortress in the middle of the Mediterranean, drew me to this book. The island has a rich history of strategic significance and dramatic conflicts that always enthralled me, a past that got woven into British Naval history in the aftermath of Nelson's victory at the battle of the Nile. It also has some personal connections - my dad did national service there a few years before the second timeline of Bell's book, my wife and I had our honeymoon there, my son in law - a post doctoral archeologist - did his PhD thesis on digital reconstructions of prehistoric places of worship there.
Bell does justice to his setting with an impeccably researched book that offers a fresh take and vivid depiction of the trials that Malta went through in its great siege of World War 2. The twin time lines and split narration lead the reader through an intriguing puzzle as three characters pursue different objectives. For 11 year old Joe in 1941 it is scratching out his own version of normality in the bombing and starvation of the siege, while his father is off serving in the Navy. For Beth in 1961 it is finally setting out to find and connect with the son of her wartime husband. As her companion and support she takes long time friend and one time patient Stuart, a man who served in Malta as a fighter pilot and suffered terrible burns in an accident caused by sabotage.
The 1941 thread follows Joe's point of view, capturing the innocence and playfulness of childhood that endures even in the worst adversities of war.
The 1961 thread is from Stuart's perspective and a multiple mission of supporting Beth's search for a grown up Joe, letting Beth know the depth of his feelings for her, and finding the saboteur to exact a personal revenge for the scars his actions inflicted deep into flesh and mind.
Bell's writing is unobtrusively effective, with his prose and plot leading the reader smoothly through the story. Lines like
The living room was small and dark. It didn't need to be both of those things.
Or on the challenges of living with scars
When they were in East Grinstead at least everyone knew about the hospital. It was known as 'the town that didn't stare'. But here, long after the war, people were likely to sneer at him as if he were suffering from late stage syphilis.
Or when trying to track down his saboteur
Father Laurence nodded, but didn't question him further. The priest had probably, in his time, heard enough freely given confessions to cure him of curiosity.
Bell braids those two historic themes, the siege of Malta and the Guinea Pig Club of Archie McIndoe's pioneering plastic surgery to treat the many badly burnt airmen. He does justice to them both and reminded me of Bill Foxley's appearance in the film The Battle of Britain as a real burns victim and member of the Guinea Pig Club.
In other historical works I had read of the desperate bids to push convoys through to the starving island, alongside the flights of Beaufort torpedo bombers from Malta harrying the axis communication lines to North Africa. Just as the axis powers were trying to starve and subdue Malta, Malta's airmen was denying Rommel vital resources and paving the way for Montgomery's eventual victory.
Bell's description of Joe's childhood experiences brings the exigencies of life under siege vividly to life, using fiction to make something feel real in a way that factual histories - ironically - often cannot.
The characters benefit from the same attention to detail that Bell brings to his rendition of history and setting (with Maltese dishes carefully described and accurately spelt). Beth's use of essential oils to calm her anxiety, the long delay in setting out on her search for Joe, finally triggered by the death of her mentor and Stuart's salvation - Archie McIndoe. 11 year old Joe's earnest games of soldiers with himself as Major and a handful of friends assigned to NCO ranks. Stuart's long held but unspoken love for Beth, kindled in the days of patient nursing before he could open his eyes and see the wedding ring on her finger.
The plot has its twists and turns without ever feeling forced. The characters respond in satisfyingly logical ways to their imperatives yet still end up in sudden dilemmas or upended by events, as mysteries in 1941 and 1961 are pursued to their conclusion.
Bell does justice to his setting with an impeccably researched book that offers a fresh take and vivid depiction of the trials that Malta went through in its great siege of World War 2. The twin time lines and split narration lead the reader through an intriguing puzzle as three characters pursue different objectives. For 11 year old Joe in 1941 it is scratching out his own version of normality in the bombing and starvation of the siege, while his father is off serving in the Navy. For Beth in 1961 it is finally setting out to find and connect with the son of her wartime husband. As her companion and support she takes long time friend and one time patient Stuart, a man who served in Malta as a fighter pilot and suffered terrible burns in an accident caused by sabotage.
The 1941 thread follows Joe's point of view, capturing the innocence and playfulness of childhood that endures even in the worst adversities of war.
The 1961 thread is from Stuart's perspective and a multiple mission of supporting Beth's search for a grown up Joe, letting Beth know the depth of his feelings for her, and finding the saboteur to exact a personal revenge for the scars his actions inflicted deep into flesh and mind.
Bell's writing is unobtrusively effective, with his prose and plot leading the reader smoothly through the story. Lines like
The living room was small and dark. It didn't need to be both of those things.
Or on the challenges of living with scars
When they were in East Grinstead at least everyone knew about the hospital. It was known as 'the town that didn't stare'. But here, long after the war, people were likely to sneer at him as if he were suffering from late stage syphilis.
Or when trying to track down his saboteur
Father Laurence nodded, but didn't question him further. The priest had probably, in his time, heard enough freely given confessions to cure him of curiosity.
Bell braids those two historic themes, the siege of Malta and the Guinea Pig Club of Archie McIndoe's pioneering plastic surgery to treat the many badly burnt airmen. He does justice to them both and reminded me of Bill Foxley's appearance in the film The Battle of Britain as a real burns victim and member of the Guinea Pig Club.
In other historical works I had read of the desperate bids to push convoys through to the starving island, alongside the flights of Beaufort torpedo bombers from Malta harrying the axis communication lines to North Africa. Just as the axis powers were trying to starve and subdue Malta, Malta's airmen was denying Rommel vital resources and paving the way for Montgomery's eventual victory.
Bell's description of Joe's childhood experiences brings the exigencies of life under siege vividly to life, using fiction to make something feel real in a way that factual histories - ironically - often cannot.
The characters benefit from the same attention to detail that Bell brings to his rendition of history and setting (with Maltese dishes carefully described and accurately spelt). Beth's use of essential oils to calm her anxiety, the long delay in setting out on her search for Joe, finally triggered by the death of her mentor and Stuart's salvation - Archie McIndoe. 11 year old Joe's earnest games of soldiers with himself as Major and a handful of friends assigned to NCO ranks. Stuart's long held but unspoken love for Beth, kindled in the days of patient nursing before he could open his eyes and see the wedding ring on her finger.
The plot has its twists and turns without ever feeling forced. The characters respond in satisfyingly logical ways to their imperatives yet still end up in sudden dilemmas or upended by events, as mysteries in 1941 and 1961 are pursued to their conclusion.
September 5, 2022
The third novel by Scottish writer Liam Bell is an intriguing historical tale. Stuart was disfigured during the war when his plane caught fire in Malta. He’s long harboured a secret love for Beth, the nurse from his convalescence. In 1961, Beth contacts Stuart because she wants to go to Malta and find Joe, the son of her late husband Victor. Stuart is happy to accompany her, not just for the chance to spend time with Beth, but also because he may be able to take revenge on the man who caused his burns.
A second plot strand follows young Joe in 1941, as his childhood games are interrupted by the news that his father has left the family behind while serving overseas. Back in 1961, it doesn’t take too long for Stuart and Beth to find Joe, but there are revelations to come – not least that Victor is apparently still alive.
I enjoyed reading Man at Sea: it’s briskly paced and evocatively written. Nothing is quite as it seems, so there is plenty to uncover in a relatively short space. Bell’s characters have to face the question of whether it’s better to hold on to the past or let go. They come to something of a conclusion on that question in a quietly poignant ending.
A second plot strand follows young Joe in 1941, as his childhood games are interrupted by the news that his father has left the family behind while serving overseas. Back in 1961, it doesn’t take too long for Stuart and Beth to find Joe, but there are revelations to come – not least that Victor is apparently still alive.
I enjoyed reading Man at Sea: it’s briskly paced and evocatively written. Nothing is quite as it seems, so there is plenty to uncover in a relatively short space. Bell’s characters have to face the question of whether it’s better to hold on to the past or let go. They come to something of a conclusion on that question in a quietly poignant ending.
February 10, 2026
Novels about Malta during WWII appear to be rare, AI only came up with one direct hit: Nicholas Monsarrat – The Kappillan of Malta (1973). ‘Man at sea’ explores a number of themes such as identity, forgiveness, trauma, love over two interconnected time frames. It’s a slow reveal leading me to wonder if I’d been paying attention - mostly I had. Patience is rewarded and from three quarters of the way through it’s satisfyingly gripping.
August 31, 2024
Family drama with flashbacks to life on Malta in WW2. I enjoyed the setting and the historical information seemed very well researched and was fascinating and really brought to life the horrors of war both for combatants and civilians. The story was less exciting and I found the characters a bit odd.
August 21, 2022
Malta, mystery, 2WW,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews