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A review by sgrizzle
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.5
“‘You know why the battle of good vs evil is so one-sided, Malin? Because evil is better organised, better equipped and better paid. It is not monsters or yakas or demons we should fear. Organised collectives of evil doers who think they are performing the work of the righteous. That is what should make us shudder.’”
I read this for my StoryGraph Reads the World Sri Lanka entry, and because it is a Booker Prize winner. This is a hard one to rate, because the quality is HIGH. I absolutely understand the award wins, and how this is a Very Important book for Sri Lankans. It is also a hard read for a few reasons. I went in knowing very little about Sri Lanka, and felt pretty lost, I had to stop and do some research. To be clear this is not a point against the book at all, and is the point of reading diversely! I learned a lot. It’s also very heavy subject matter, and confronts violence and corruption and evil very directly.
That said, once I got my footing under me, it was a fascinating story. The world-building of the afterlife here is really fun, and for being about such a dark period of history, there was also so much humor here as well. A big help was switching to the audio version, the narrator is EXCELLENT and really helped to bring the characters to life. Having the audible cues of how he did the differing voices also helped where I found myself getting a little lost. It did take me much longer to read than normal, and I took a couple of breaks, I think both because of the complexity and the difficult content, but as I was getting closer to the end I was fully absorbed.
Ultimately, it ends in a poignant and hopeful place, which is meaningful for a novel of war. I don’t know that I’d recommend it to every reader because it’s definitely a challenge, but worth the effort
I read this for my StoryGraph Reads the World Sri Lanka entry, and because it is a Booker Prize winner. This is a hard one to rate, because the quality is HIGH. I absolutely understand the award wins, and how this is a Very Important book for Sri Lankans. It is also a hard read for a few reasons. I went in knowing very little about Sri Lanka, and felt pretty lost, I had to stop and do some research. To be clear this is not a point against the book at all, and is the point of reading diversely! I learned a lot. It’s also very heavy subject matter, and confronts violence and corruption and evil very directly.
That said, once I got my footing under me, it was a fascinating story. The world-building of the afterlife here is really fun, and for being about such a dark period of history, there was also so much humor here as well. A big help was switching to the audio version, the narrator is EXCELLENT and really helped to bring the characters to life. Having the audible cues of how he did the differing voices also helped where I found myself getting a little lost. It did take me much longer to read than normal, and I took a couple of breaks, I think both because of the complexity and the difficult content, but as I was getting closer to the end I was fully absorbed.
Ultimately, it ends in a poignant and hopeful place, which is meaningful for a novel of war. I don’t know that I’d recommend it to every reader because it’s definitely a challenge, but worth the effort
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and War
Moderate: Suicide