Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

177 reviews

zach_connolly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Murder, War, and Classism

peasandpancakes's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved the premise of this book and the general story line. It was a bit slow at times, but it picked up again in the last 150 or so pages. 

My biggest problem was the tense. The second person tense was hard to get into, and I kept forgetting it had this tense, so I was confused by the wording every time I picked this book back up after a few days. 

Also not sure I got all the intricacies with the different sides and beliefs, as I had almost no knowledge on Sri Lanka before reading this book and had to google something every few pages.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

bookish_wanderer's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and War

Moderate: Death, Violence, and War

Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, and Torture

fmfp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and War

yvonnereviews's review against another edition

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

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, and Murder

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny 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

4.0

Such a wild ride! You definitely need a certain amount of diligence if you're someone who dives into this book with little to no knowledge of the Sri Lankan civil war, but the pay off is so worth it if you do.

I would recommend hammering this one out pretty quick, or at least with a good amount of consistency. The cast of characters at the back of the book does help in keeping your feet grounded in the story and reminding you who's who, but taking your foot of the gas for a story like this will only leave you left behind in the dust.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Murder, and War

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Suicide

siobhanward's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

NYT Notable Books 2022: 29/100

This book had an interesting concept but I wasn't sold on it until the very end. I thought that tracing Maali's journey through life as he tried to piece together his death was interesting, and I found myself learning a lot about Sri Lankan history and politics. The concept of the afterlife and the seven moons was really great and I wish I knew whether this were part of Sri Lankan culture (or the culture of one of the the ethnogroups found in Sri Lanka), or if this is something Karunatilaka came up with. Definitely an interesting read, though the use of second person sometimes made it challenging to follow. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Murder

bugle's review against another edition

dark tense

• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and Kidnapping

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Alcohol

ebp's review against another edition

challenging dark funny hopeful 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

reads2cope's review against another edition

3.75

A difficult book to rate. The setting and mythology were totally immersive, the commentary on colonialism was sharp, and the characters gave me a lot to root for. However, there were at least three points where I thought the book was wrapping up only to find hours more to read. The journey became repetitive, and while I liked Maali’s growth, the constant homophobia and violence behind him became too much to keep wading through. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Abandonment