Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

29 reviews

eleanorjmca's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, and Car accident

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

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Maali a bad bitch that came from Sri Lanka 3👻

Giving major Cantik itu luka/Beauty is a wound vibes: magical realism at the height of violence of the civil war. 

A must read for anyone wanting to know more about one of the bloodiest civil wars of the 20th century.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

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

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

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

hhllmm77's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

This was a haunting portrayal of a person of color intersected with LGBTQIA+ community within the war-torn country of Sri Lanka. As I listened to the narrator convey the story in stark clarity, I was struck by the poignancy of the author’s woven tapestry of words and how with every description, accent, and intonation I was transported from my current reality into this fictional (yet historically accurate) world beyond. Through this book, the author provided a window with which I could clearly view as if it were my own experience. As cliche as it sounds, I feel richer having read this work of art.

herasrevenge88's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

‘They say that laughter is music but that is just one of the thousand untruths we suckle ourselves with. Some laughs are peakened, some are hideous, some can curdle blood.’

‘We must all find pointless causes to live for, or why bother with breath.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Blood, Alcohol, and Colonisation