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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is very unusual for a book to hook me from start to finish the way this one did.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida follows (in 2nd person, which is less frustrating once you get used to it) a dead war photographer in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war trying to piece together the details of his death, which he can’t remember. Through all this he navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife and the factions of the undead, and there is a ticking clock after which he must enter the light or remain a ghost.
There is a dreamlike, hallucinatory tone that’s poetic and harrowing and dryly funny. This book is dense and packed with information. At a few points I missed details and had to reread sections, but those sections were so pleasant and interesting to read that I didn’t mind. In fact, I could probably read this book twice and pick out all sorts of things I missed the first time around and enjoy it just as much.
If you don’t want a dark or challenging read, this isn’t for you. There is a lot of war horror and body horror in here, among both the living and the dead. There are numerous factions, all with their own acronyms and atrocities. The characters are lovable but deeply flawed, and the protagonist is a closeted gay man who cheats on his partner. The narrative moves from one place to another and back again, interweaving threads in a not entirely linear way.
Personally I found it gripping and informative. I found it both funny and sad, meditative and suspenseful, beautiful and terrifying, philosophical and cynical and hopeful at the same time. At some points I felt like I was on a rollercoasting moving through a whirlwind of emotions and experiences so quickly that I could barely parse them but enjoying every moment.
I’ve certainly never read anything like it.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida follows (in 2nd person, which is less frustrating once you get used to it) a dead war photographer in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war trying to piece together the details of his death, which he can’t remember. Through all this he navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife and the factions of the undead, and there is a ticking clock after which he must enter the light or remain a ghost.
There is a dreamlike, hallucinatory tone that’s poetic and harrowing and dryly funny. This book is dense and packed with information. At a few points I missed details and had to reread sections, but those sections were so pleasant and interesting to read that I didn’t mind. In fact, I could probably read this book twice and pick out all sorts of things I missed the first time around and enjoy it just as much.
If you don’t want a dark or challenging read, this isn’t for you. There is a lot of war horror and body horror in here, among both the living and the dead. There are numerous factions, all with their own acronyms and atrocities. The characters are lovable but deeply flawed, and the protagonist is a closeted gay man who cheats on his partner. The narrative moves from one place to another and back again, interweaving threads in a not entirely linear way.
Personally I found it gripping and informative. I found it both funny and sad, meditative and suspenseful, beautiful and terrifying, philosophical and cynical and hopeful at the same time. At some points I felt like I was on a rollercoasting moving through a whirlwind of emotions and experiences so quickly that I could barely parse them but enjoying every moment.
I’ve certainly never read anything like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Torture, Car accident
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol
The protagonist is a dead war photographer who sees many horrors, both in life and the afterlife. This book is very detailed about the horrors of war. He is also a closeted gay man who is living in a homophobic society.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Animal death
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Child death
I'm not in a place in my life to be able to appreciate this book right now. I found myself dreading picking it up and counting down the pages till I finished each moon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol
Many scenes in active war zones with descriptions of death and violence. Recurring vision of a dead family including dead children and a dead dog. Intense amounts of homophobia.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
I learned of this book while watching a "best books of 2024" YouTube video, and the premise was appealing. I love a bit of supernatural fiction, and I don't think I've read anything with Sri Lankan characters and folklore before. Upon reading, I can definitely see why this book was on that "best reads" list. It's funny, it's heart-wrenching, it's weird... basically everything I enjoy in my literary fiction.
WRITING: Karunatilaka's prose is interesting in that it creates very vivid pictures of the afterlife (called the "in between") while also feeling kind of hazy by using second person. Normally, second person is a huge turn off for me, but I think it did interesting things here. Still, I think second person did make it harder to connect with characters, but that might just be my personal bias.
I really enjoyed the mix of humor, horror, and magic throughout the book, and how easily Karunatilaka moves between them and juxtaposes them. There are parts of the narration that feel heavy and bleak, but then it will be met with humor or something absurd. Some of this reinforces the theme in this book that some lives are insignificant or meaningless - almost nihilistic. But some of it is also full of meaning in itself, causing the reader to look at things a new way.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows Maali Almeida, a photographer who is killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1989. Upon "awakening" in the waiting room of the afterlife, Maali finds that he has no idea who killed him and that he has only 7 moons (nights) before he loses his chance to pass on. Maali has taken some photographs that could anger a lot of people, so the list of suspects is long. Meanwhile, his photos have put his still-living best friend and his lover in the line of danger.
The description of this book makes the plot out to be a thriller or mystery, and while there is a mystery element, the focus is less on who-dun-it and more on reflecting on war and bloodshed. Maali has seen a lot of horrifying things and there are a lot of players in the ongoing conflict, and a huge part of this book is devoted to thinking through allegiances, power, justice, revenge, and so on.
Because I know very little about the history of the Sri Lankan Civil War, I found it difficult to keep track of all the players and motivations. But to be clear: that's my own failure, and I don't think it would be fair for Karunatilaka to hold my hand and explain everything to me. I think this book will feel more weighty once I am more familiar with the history, and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to read outside my comfort zone and be motivated to learn new things.
CHARACTERS: Maali, our protagonist, is interesting but also a little hard to get to know due to the second person narration. That may be my own bias talking, so take that with a grain of salt. Still, I liked following a character who was doing something arguably noble and important yet also was kind of spiraling in his personal life. I loved Maali's relationships with Jaki and DD, and how he constantly reflected on both his love for them and how he failed them. It made me think of Maali less as this brave journalistic and more of a person who struggles to maintain relationships during a time of chaos.
Jaki, Maali's roommate and best friend, is admirable in that she does everything she can to learn what happened to Maali. I loved her bravery and how she seemed to be the person who was most invested in finding the truth. I was rooting for her the whole time.
DD, Maali's lover, was sympathetic in that he wanted to make his own life and struggled to openly accept his queerness. I liked that he had a connection to politics and that put some pressure on Maali's activities, and I enjoyed the parts where he and Jaki teamed up to get answers
.
.
There are a lot of other characters in this book - too many to name. But broadly, I do think all were as simple or complex as they needed to be. Personally, I think I wanted a little more depth from the supernatural characters, but I also could have been missing something that's obvious to people who know about the folklore.
TL;DR: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is a stunning portrait of the Sri Lankan Civil War and three people at the heart of it. My criticisms are mostly to do with my own preferences and lack of familiarity with history, but those aside, this is a very moving, very bleak, and yet very funny book that tackles horror and humor with skill.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, War
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Racism, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Torture
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, War
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish wish wish I hadn’t listened to this book as an audiobook or that I’d been able to listen to it all in one go, because I don’t think I enjoyed it as fully as I could have. I can only imagine how much more impact the dry yet devastating tone of this book would have had if I was able to fully submerge myself within it.
That being said, I still loved this book. I learnt so much about Sri Lankan history that I’m ashamed to say that I knew next to nothing about previously. The unique imagining of the afterlife combined with the satirical tone and haunting scenes of violence truly makes this book an amazing accomplishment and well deserved of all the praise it has received. I would just caution readers to consider which format would be best for this detailed and disturbing a tale.
That being said, I still loved this book. I learnt so much about Sri Lankan history that I’m ashamed to say that I knew next to nothing about previously. The unique imagining of the afterlife combined with the satirical tone and haunting scenes of violence truly makes this book an amazing accomplishment and well deserved of all the praise it has received. I would just caution readers to consider which format would be best for this detailed and disturbing a tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, War, Injury/Injury detail