Katy Simpson Smith’s novel, *The Maltese Version*, offers a layered exploration of love, language, and identity through the intertwined stories of two women navigating personal and professional challenges. Set against the backdrop of Chicago and the Maltese archipelago, the book delves into the complexities of relationships and the elusive nature of communication.

The story centers on Leonie, a white woman described with an "otter body," and Rhoda, a Black woman in her 40s, both writers employed by Spinder’s Guides, a Chicago-based travel publisher. Leonie is assigned to write about Western European locales, while Rhoda covers Caribbean islands. Their friendship and professional lives shift when Leonie’s boyfriend, Max—a literary translator—vanishes to Malta, seeking new opportunities.

Leonie and Max’s relationship is marked by ambivalence and semantic disputes, reflecting a modern partnership oscillating between affection and detachment. Max’s move to Gozo, part of the Maltese islands, triggers a personal crisis fueled by the presence of Ana, a Maltese poet whose erotic and politically charged work captivates and challenges him. Max struggles to translate Ana’s poetry, blurring the lines between his professional role and personal desires. Their liaison introduces a tension that complicates all their lives.

Meanwhile, Rhoda’s life in Chicago is constrained by familial responsibilities and a stagnant marriage. She leverages her status as the magazine’s “island queen” to secure an assignment in Malta, seeking both professional reinvention and a reprieve from domestic pressures. Her arrival in Malta intensifies the narrative’s exploration of identity, allegiance, and narrative agency.

The novel juxtaposes the cosmopolitan lives of its American characters with the textured history and social dynamics of Malta. Smith paints the island as a place shaped by “corruption,” entrenched families, and a palpable sense of decline, described metaphorically as a “dinosaur land crumbling into the sea.” This setting emphasizes the gulf between the protagonists’ insulated existences and the island’s deeper cultural and historical resonances.

At its core, *The Maltese Version* probes the limitations and possibilities of translation—not only of language but also of experience and emotion. Max’s discomfort and envy toward the “source language” of Ana’s poetry symbolize a broader struggle to grasp authenticity and to articulate intimate realities. Leonie gradually recognizes that translation is less about ownership and more about creating a “second story,” a process reflecting the characters’ efforts to find new ways of understanding love, loss, and connection.

The novel ultimately suggests that love defies simple definition, manifesting as a sequence of “terror, comfort, then separation,” or two people “shouting to each other through the trees.” It presents language simultaneously as a tool and a barrier, offering the possibility of deep insight while acknowledging its inherent incompleteness. Through its intricate narrative and stylistic ingenuity, *The Maltese Version* invites readers to reconsider notions of intimacy, fidelity, and the stories we tell ourselves and others.