diff --git a/lib/libalpm/handle.c b/lib/libalpm/handle.c
index 28f07507..5300fa13 100644
--- a/lib/libalpm/handle.c
+++ b/lib/libalpm/handle.c
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ pmhandle_t *handle_new()
 
 	handle = (pmhandle_t *)malloc(sizeof(pmhandle_t));
 	if(handle == NULL) {
+		_alpm_log(PM_LOG_ERROR, "malloc failure: could not allocate %d bytes", sizeof(pmhandle_t));
 		RET_ERR(PM_ERR_MEMORY, NULL);
 	}