Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Definitely pushed me to educate myself on the history of Sri Lanka, though the book is accessible due to a cleverly placed letter describing political/resistance groups & their motivations. Found it hard to get my bearings early on, but that felt appropriate for a country steeped in war and conflict. The world is not straightforward and the plotting reflects that.
Do not expect the like the characters, they’re multifaceted and fascinating but deeply flawed. Using humour to mask personal pain and displaying problematic beliefs. A strong representation of internalised homophobia, with Maali rejecting labels in place of convoluted alternatives, despite claiming to be comfortable as he is and admittedly being very open about enjoying MLM experiences.
Guessed neither the whodunit nor the ending. Engaging, intelligent and turbulent - would recommend!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Colonisation
The protagonist, Maali, finds himself dead, waking up in a waiting room of dead souls. The story follows him trying to figure out the cause of his death before time runs out. This setting, with a second person narrative from the perspective of Maali, truly lets you step into and live in his shoes. The fact that he's a ghost also allows for some interesting scenes to take place.
I'm not going to give away more about the story itself but what I loved about it was the way it tackled heavy themes like war and being queer in a developing country. The novel captures the essence of these experiences in a humourous way without making them comedic.
On a more meta note, I really appreciated that the author did not sanitise/glorify/exoticisd Sri Lanka or Sri Lankan customs to suit the tastes of foreign audiences. As an Indian who reads some Indian fiction written in English, it sometimes feels like the books are written for and marketed towards Western audiences which ultimately ends up exoticising the country. This book thankfully did not fall into that trap.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, War
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation
Moderate: Homophobia, Torture, Violence, War
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence
A lengthy but engaging and necessary read for the current modern century. Made me rethink humanity and life in general. Might reread this!
Graphic: Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, War, Classism
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, War
Moderate: Slavery, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder
I would suggest researching the Sri Lankan civil war for clarity on the discussion in the book.
I found it's depicted of powerlessness, resentment, war and moral ambiguity suffocating, upsetting, and raw. Both the characters and the world building was amazing although the writing style wasn't really for me. Despite this, I adored this book due to the immense level of reflection and awareness needed to understand it.
Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War
Minor: Animal death, Death, Car accident
The second person also had an interesting effect—it’s not entirely noticeable, but I do think some of the more 80s vulgar language was *only* jarring because of the second person audiobook. It certainly made sense with the characters. I do think reading the (non audio) book would be a very different experience. It seemed to be split in tone between reflecting on the character’s life and solving his murder. The reflective parts and exploration of the afterlife are more in line with something I would prefer in a non audiobook, but it didn’t quite tip into a character study. I don’t think the murderer was at all surprising, but I’m also not sure it was set up before the somewhat rapid resolution to the story.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder
Moderate: War