Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Sri Lankan war photographer and playboy Maali Almeida wakes up dead. He doesn't remember how or where he died, but he does remember that he left behind a box of his photographs that can change the world. As a ghost, Maali resolves to find a way to publish the photos with the help of his lover and his best friend, over the course of his allotted seven days before crossing into the Light.

I picked this book because I wanted something different, and indeed it is something different. Is historical magical realism a thing? If so, this is it. I admit that I was confused for most of the book, though most of that is due to my lack of knowledge about this aspect of history. But regardless of my ignorance of the atrocities, events, and major players of the Sri Lankan civil war, I was sucked into Maali's story and the fate of both his photographs and his friends. The overall tone of the book is despairing and nihilistic, and yet there are beautiful moments too.

I do recommend this book if it sounds intriguing to you, but I recommend taking a few minutes to skim the Wikipedia entry on the Sri Lankan civil war first.

Content Warnings

my_a's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed reading this. Beautiful writing and unique. It got me out of a big reading slump.
-.5 as I often found bits hard to follow and I often had to re-read sections and trace names back.

Content Warnings

clare072's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

heatherjchin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

not_dead_yet's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

It’s about the inner workings of a genocidal civil war and one man’s single-minded scheme to stop it by exposing the truth. As a side dish it’s a murder mystery.

The chaotic structure of the writing draws you in to the chaos of the forces driving the civil war. The chaos continues after death without missing a beat.

Content Warnings

caoimhemia's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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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andyourstruly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective

4.75

This was a really good book.

The best way of describing it is that genre of book where someone in the main character's life has just died, leaving behind a tangled web of mystery for the MC to unravel and resolve ... from the dead person's point of view.

The author does an amazing job painting the political landscape of Sri Lankan politics in the 70s-90s in all of its complexity and using it as a vehicle to reveal the story as opposed to allowing it to bog the story down. The main character is jaded and unlikeable, but the slow reveal throughout the book of what leads him to be like that and the dynamics involved was really impressively handled. I really loved the ending and the way that the author doesn't pretend to try to fix everything.

I read this book because a friend of a friend told me that her book club had read it and that everyone but her had said that, while they liked it, they would not recommend it as a book club book, a sentiment that she had disagreed with. Having now read it, I have to agree with my friend's friend: if these aren't the topics we discuss in a book club, then what are?

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