Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

30 reviews

bronzeageholly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.75

Exceptional. A book about forgiveness and witness, about reflection and observation, politics and religion, humour and pain, war and society, hope and probability, about life after death.

This was an eye-opening and emotional read; I laughed, gasped, cried, and pondered throughout the whole book. Each character was unique and whole, and each aspect of the plot (the personal and the wider political) was interesting and engrossing.   

I was occasionally a little lost in trying to follow where Maali was and build the scenery as he travelled. However, all in all, this book was absorbing, immersive, and captivating. I instantly believed and was wrapped up the magical realism aspect.

Some of the sections - and the philosophising they brought on - will stay with me forever. 

“I've watched your kind. Both as beast and as ghost. I can’t understand why humans destroy when they can create.”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“‘This is where dreams are. I come here many times. To visit him and my girls.'

‘Him? You mean God?'

She laughs. ‘No, child. My husband. The father of my babies.'

‘The professor?'

‘He supported me though he didn't agree with me. He stopped all politics after I died. He's Down There. Looking after my girls. He's a lovely father. And I visit him in dreams and tell him whenever I can.'”

I loved this! Long live second-person narration. What a wonderful, moving and dark book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lucyeanderson's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this was an easy 4.5 stars for me. as much as sometimes i struggled to follow the book, due to its deep and complicated political happenings and cast of characters, i think this was more due to my own non-education on sri lankan history, rather than anything to do with the author or the book. i found this book so interesting. i really didn’t know a lot about it’s setting prior to reading, and thought the cantering of an atheist with an unknown political leaning allowed the events to be showcased clearly. i loved maalis voice, and thought he had the right combination of sardonic humour and cynicism, as well as optimism and light. i found the extended cast of characters incredibly interesting - they represented many different generations, beliefs, and touched on how the events of a country can affect its diaspora as well as its citizens. having read the book, i definitely want to research more about sri lanka and it’s history, and most certainly it’s mythology and belief systems - the inclusion of this as a vessel for the magical realism was so cool to learn through, and gave me an insight into beliefs so different from my own. i was hesitant about the second person perspective, but found that this was the perfect way to present the story, as you felt as though you were experiencing and learning with maali in real time. and that twist?! omg it broke my heart, i did NOT see that one coming. heavy warning for graphic descriptions of violence, though i don’t see it as used unnecessarily and trivially. overall, though i got through it at a slow pace, i really enjoyed reading this book - i’m so glad i found it and got to experience this story. 4.5/5 stars.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

sumunun's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

peonydancer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

As someone with a Sri Lankan Tamil background, I had mixed feelings about the book. Whilst I loved the inside jokes that anyone from there would tots get about the culture, history, society, etc, Maali himself was a pain in the ass lol. Plus, the book didn't really show the war for what it was and how it started; it started with ultimately, the Anti-Tamil Porgroms enacted by the Sinhalese government and carried by its citizens; the mass murder and displacement of Tamil civilians. Still, I enjoyed the scathing commentary - a very unique book!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Abandonment

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I ended up liking this book much more than my initial expectations. 
I quite enjoyed the writing style and the elements of magical realism. The narrative was challenging and even brutal at times, but very much captivating.

I have to admit that I generally struggle with unlikeable characters (especially if they are the main characters) but this is a rare case in which I actually appreciated all of these flawed and at times even unpleasant people, they felt very real and well-rounded in their portrayal.

I also liked that the story is deeply grounded in Sri Lankan history but the narration is not weighed down with long-winded explanatory paragraphs (which I really do not like in fiction as they stand out too much and interrupt the narrative flow), the reader has to pick up pieces of historical information as the narration progresses and/or do further reasearch by themself.

I also want to mention that the final revelation of Maali's fate left me completely stunned, I was speechless, floored, I still cannot believe it, it was truly a plot twist that I did not see coming and it landed like a punch to the stomach. 

Some episodes/sections left me a bit perplexed 

like a section discussing penises, okay I guess?!

or didn't impress me as much as the rest of the story, therefore the 4.5 rating. It is still a book well worthy of your time and that offers a lot to chew on.

Because, on reflection, once you have seen your own face and recognized the color of your eyes, tasted the air and smelled the soil, drunk from the purest fountains and the dirtiest wells, that is the kindest thing you can say abut life. It's not nothing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, Excrement, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Outing, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Set in Sri Lanka in there 1980s this tells the story of a gay photographer with a gambling habit and frequent infidelities,  who has come to his end and it's trying to navigate his afterlife. First he has to figure out how he got there, and see if he can clean up the troubles he has caused his friends and family. He can travel to any place where people are talking about him, and so he starts to find out a lot more about what was going on around him than he was aware of in his life.

I haven't seen ghosts, spirits and demons depicted in this way before. It's quite a fresh take as a way of unpacking a life lived alongside people who are responsible for huge amounts of human (and animal)  suffering and bloodshed. As a person who rationalises his position taking pictures of heinous bloodshed, in the hopes that he can ruin the reputations of warmongers and bring end to conflict, he is both naïve and reckless.

As a retrospective, 40 years gives just about enough time between now and then for a look back at the political forces at play in Sri Lanka. The foreword is specific about it being a work of fiction, but certain contextual things are irrefutable history. Unpacking some of the ideas about racial frictions in the area, of the colonization and brutalization from various powers, over hundreds of years are myriad angry and frustrated or power-hungry spirits, some of whom plan revenge, or just hate on the living. They are cutting and profane in their expressions of contempt for living people and the history they have endured.

All this is counterpointed by some young dumb 20somethings – a rich jock brat, and his cousin and flatmate, a goth girl with a cynical outlook and artsy friends.

Maali has to decide whether he will go toward the light; will he stick around on Earth as an eternal spirit, remember past lives, or forget everything and be reborn.. will he trade his strength to the demons to get special powers allowing him to affect living humans!.. and are the nasty looking apparitions trying to trick him, or are the clean, white clad "Helpers" the ones who are stringing him along?

Cool book, but a bit hard going if you aren't ok with war reporting. Interesting revelations near the end and a fairly satisfying ending. Worth a read 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

faduma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

julesleigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was a wild bloody violent funny and ridiculous ride. Being set during the Sri Lankan revolution and having it be a revenge plot about what it truly means to be human and to be alive and who we affect is going to be a story that sticks me for a very long time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

apworden's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I read both the ebook and listened to the audiobook (sometimes at the same time). Absolutely loved this book. It was engaging from the start and balanced really heavy material with subtle dark humor. It was a fascinating look into Sri Lanka in the late ‘80s/early 90’s. I felt like I went on the philosophical journey about the meaning of life right along with Maali. If you like magical realism mixed with historical fiction I recommend this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism