Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

64 reviews

dereksilva's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Death

Minor: Homophobia, Torture, and Suicide

sophie_paterson's review against another edition

Graphic violence 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Death

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

As someone who knows nothing about the history and war in Sri Lanka I was a little lost for the first 100 pages but after a quick google and getting further into the book, it did start to pick up and the pieces came together. 

I can understand why this won a Booker Prize and I can agree with that but overall wasn’t my favourite book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Grief

lydia_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, War, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Minor: Torture

abbie_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

I found last year’s Booker prizewinner in a charity shop for 50p and I can conclude that that was 50p well spent. One of the more challenging books I’ve read in a while, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida feels like a lengthier book than it is. That sounds like criticism but I don’t mean it that way - this book is expansive, the scope of it spilling over its 384 pages.

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Even though I’ve read a couple of books which focus on the Sri Lankan civil war, I still felt a bit adrift initially. Karunatilaka throws you right in the midst of the ferocious violence and bloody politics which reigned in Sri Lanka for over 25 years. At the start of the book, we know that Maali Almeida is dead, but we don’t know how or why or who killed him. He’s in the afterlife, surrounded by Helpers who tell him he has seven nights to carry out his unfinished business - namely, lead his boyfriend and best friend to a box of photos that would have been more than enough to get Maali murdered.

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There’s just so much going on in this book. We get real world politics and injustices (1990s Sri Lanka was not a good time to be a gay man), but we also have the dramas of the afterlife playing out in tandem. Terrifying demons made up of souls stacked on souls, blind men whispering words of the dead to the living, gangs of ghosts urgently seeking vengeance on those who wronged them on earth. It’s all a bit mind-boggling but if you can stick with it (it took me a good 120 pages lol) then I do think the pay off is worth it. 

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Bearing witness is the most important theme here - Maali’s final quest is to expose the brutality and carnage of the civil war, with photos he’s spent years taking and then trying to forget through booze, gambling and men. The horrors of the war are spared no detail here, and that combined with the frequent moments of dark humour make for some serious literary whiplash. Glad I persevered through the slow beginning!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Torture, War, Blood, Addiction, Child death, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Homophobia

georgieleighreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Colonisation, Blood, War, Physical abuse, Genocide, Child death, Car accident, Torture, Suicide, Police brutality, Gore, Death, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault

bethsicle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Murder, Homophobia, War, Death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Car accident, Torture, Outing, Cursing, Colonisation, Alcohol, Child death, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Addiction, Classism, Hate crime, Drug use, Blood, Gore, and Genocide

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

emjbarnes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.75

I usually prefer shorter books, and it took me a while to get through this, but it was so worth every page. There isn't a word wasted and the cast of so many characters comes together perfectly at the end. It's a very difficult read but I'd highly recommend it - just read the content warnings first!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Death, Police brutality, Racism, Murder, Infidelity, Gun violence, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, Torture, and War

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

alecrigdon's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked the concept of this novel more than actually reading it. The author doesn't waste time explaining many details about the life and culture of these characters which can cause confusion at times. The last 30 pages or so are quite beautiful but did not align with how I felt the rest of the story was told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Child death, War, Murder, Suicide, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content

joannasomasundaram's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Beautifully written. Shehan Karunathilaka takes you on a journey through the eyes of a dead journalist as he navigates the afterlife during the civil war in Sri Lanka. This book masterfully illustrates the struggle of the Sri Lankan working class during an era of rampant corruption through humour and wit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Murder, War, Violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug use, Child death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Genocide

Minor: Car accident, Alcohol, and Blood