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A review by stevereadthatbook
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
4.0
“They say the truth will set you free,” Maali notes, “though in Sri Lanka the truth can land you in a cage.”
– Shehan, Karunatilaka, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
My summary: The story is set in Colombo, Sri Lanka and follows the very recently deceased Maali Almeida, who introduces himself as “Photographer. Gambler. Slut.” Maali must wander through the afterlife while reckoning with the ghosts that haunt him and his country. The book is structured as a murder mystery with Maali trying to reconstruct the events that led to his death. He learns that he has seven moons (i.e. seven days) to unravel the mystery. Maali focuses on two people — DD, the son of a government official (and also his semi-secret boyfriend), and DD’s cousin Jaki, a lesbian radio announcer who plays the part of Maali’s girlfriend to give them both cover in a country where gay men and women are routinely murdered.
My take: This wasn’t the easiest of reads. It combines Sri Lankan politics and history (about which, sadly, I know very little) and mythology (about which I know even less).
But it is a hauntingly entertaining story (and I do love a good detective novel), which also serves as an historical commentary on the tragedy of the Sri Lankan civil war. It’s a wild ride that in some ways echoed for me Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five: a deeply funny novel set in the backdrop of true horror.
– Shehan, Karunatilaka, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
My summary: The story is set in Colombo, Sri Lanka and follows the very recently deceased Maali Almeida, who introduces himself as “Photographer. Gambler. Slut.” Maali must wander through the afterlife while reckoning with the ghosts that haunt him and his country. The book is structured as a murder mystery with Maali trying to reconstruct the events that led to his death. He learns that he has seven moons (i.e. seven days) to unravel the mystery. Maali focuses on two people — DD, the son of a government official (and also his semi-secret boyfriend), and DD’s cousin Jaki, a lesbian radio announcer who plays the part of Maali’s girlfriend to give them both cover in a country where gay men and women are routinely murdered.
My take: This wasn’t the easiest of reads. It combines Sri Lankan politics and history (about which, sadly, I know very little) and mythology (about which I know even less).
But it is a hauntingly entertaining story (and I do love a good detective novel), which also serves as an historical commentary on the tragedy of the Sri Lankan civil war. It’s a wild ride that in some ways echoed for me Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five: a deeply funny novel set in the backdrop of true horror.