A review by augureader
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karunatilaka

dark reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

I waited AGES for this book to be available from my library after I requested it back in August. It was worth the wait, and I get why this won the 2022 Booker Prize. It was an incredibly strange book (in the best ways). Written in 2nd person, this visa-office inspired purgatory set in a politically violent landscape tells the story of Maali Almeida who needs to figure out who killed him, and what he wants to do with his afterlife. Maali is not like me at all, so to read in 2nd person all about his shenanigans was VERY interesting indeed. The Sri Lankan civil war isn’t well represented in international fiction, which results in lack of widespread knowledge about its atrocities (or timelines… sadly, it is in our lifetime). This well-written book tells you a lot of truth in its fiction, and weaves multiple plotlines into a delightfully confusing book perfectly. Personally, I thought it suffered some pacing issues in the middle, but otherwise, worth the read and, perhaps, a reread.