A review by 2treads
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

– And when you jump you know three things, that the brightness of the light will force you to open your eyes wider, that you will choose the same drink and it will take you somewhere new, and that when you get there, you will have forgotten all of the above –

Call it cultural preference, experience, or influence, but I love a ghost/duppy/spirit-led story. A story that is solely told from the perspective of a recently departed soul that now needs to remember how they died, who killed them, and why.

What I loved about Karunatilaka's take are the lingering vulnerabilities that stay with Maali. He has as much control here in the afterlife as he did while alive. He learns that the spiritual world is just as hierarchical and beholden to power and standing much like the human world.

He is honest in his portrayal of the aftermath and lingering scars of ethnic violence. And though he injects a dry humour, the reader is fully immersed in this broken society.

This was a vividly told story of searching, loss, guilt, and acknowledgment.
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