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A review by zed_dog
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
“You wake up the with answer to the question everyone asks. The answer is: yes. And the answer is: just like here, but worse. That’s all the insight you’ll ever get, so you might as well go back to sleep.”
I was gone on this book from that first paragraph. I loved the irreverent literary voice, the second-person narration, and the way the story encompasses both an incredible scope and an exquisitely detailed setting and cast of characters. The details are by turns hilarious and truly horrific, and I have to add a major caveat to my recommendation: there are lots and lots of gruesome images in this book, (it follows a dead photojournalist in a war zone; he bears witness to terrible things, so we do too), and for some readers the disturbing will outweigh the wonderful. But I loved this book. The magical realism and sense of humor made the heavy subject matter bearable, and the acceleration toward the end literally raised my heart rate. The denouement dragged a bit, but I was reluctant to be parted from the characters so I wasn’t mad about it. Also, the narrator of the audiobook is fabulous—I will definitely be looking out for more from him, and from the author.
I was gone on this book from that first paragraph. I loved the irreverent literary voice, the second-person narration, and the way the story encompasses both an incredible scope and an exquisitely detailed setting and cast of characters. The details are by turns hilarious and truly horrific, and I have to add a major caveat to my recommendation: there are lots and lots of gruesome images in this book, (it follows a dead photojournalist in a war zone; he bears witness to terrible things, so we do too), and for some readers the disturbing will outweigh the wonderful. But I loved this book. The magical realism and sense of humor made the heavy subject matter bearable, and the acceleration toward the end literally raised my heart rate. The denouement dragged a bit, but I was reluctant to be parted from the characters so I wasn’t mad about it. Also, the narrator of the audiobook is fabulous—I will definitely be looking out for more from him, and from the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide attempt, Torture, Car accident, Violence, Death, Homophobia, and Sexual harassment