The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Shehan Karunatilaka

NARRATOR: Shivantha Wijesinha

GENRE: Literary Fiction, Low Fantasy.

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A stark look at the political and social situation in late 1980s Sri Lanka but in a satirical-cum-fantastical packaging. After a long time, I found a Booker winner that focusses on plot progression as much as writing flourishes. Worth a read even for those wary of such award winners. (Just in case it’s still not clear, I am not a Booker winner fan.)

Story Synopsis:

1990, Colombo. Maali Almeida – war photographer, gambler, and closet homosexual – is dead. He doesn’t know how he died, when or where he died, or even if someone killed him. After all, his job puts him into regular skirmishes with the various factions , both legal and illegal, governing over Sri Lanka. All Maali knows is that he is in some kind of divine administrative building that processes dead souls. He is told that he has seven moons to set his affairs in order before he needs to walk towards the light. There’s just one thing that Maali wants to do – lead the two people he loves most towards a hidden stash of controversial photographs.

The story comes to us written in the *second person*, addressed to Maali.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 The innovative storyline. The story is a potent mix of satire, historical fiction, dark humour and low fantasy, with an LGBTQ+ track as well. Yet it didn’t seem overpowering. Imagine political corruption and folklore fitting seamlessly into a single plot! The humour helps balance out the savagery.

😍 The attention to detail. Every character and every scene was sketched well. Terms that might be new to readers were explained in a quirky way without making them seem like newspaper articles or dictionary definitions. I found it easy to navigate through this book despite not being much aware of local Sri Lankan politics. (The book is politically intensive.)

😍 The authentic feel. Shehan Karunatilaka seems to know his country in and out, and it reflects in the writing. The ethos and the pathos of Sri Lanka both appear to have been captured well. (Only a Sri Lankan would be able to comment on the accuracy though.)

😍 The second person voice is the toughest one to get right. But the author handles this excellently. Not once did I feel like the voice was erroneously applied. Whether flashbacks or contemporary time, whether the divine office or ‘Down There’, the second person is put to effective use in making us feel like a part of the plot.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😔 With too many characters, a complicated plot, and convoluted timelines, the content felt a bit overwhelming. This problem wouldn’t have occurred if I were reading this instead of listening to it.

😔 The mystery about Maali’s cause of death and its subsequent resolution wasn’t satisfying. The revelation felt almost anti-climactic after all the build-up.

😔 A couple of the “moons” feel very repetitive. The middle section of the story drags a bit.

The audiobook experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 14 hrs 15 min, is narrated by Shivantha Wijesinha. He was brilliant! Despite the vast number of characters in the plot, he narrates them each with aplomb, using a distinctive speaking style based on the nationality of the characters. His way of saying “Aiyyoooo!” has percolated into my vocabulary as well. 😄

However, despite the fantastic narrator, I have a strong feeling that I would have liked this book even better had I read it. It would have been much easier to keep track of the moons and the people.

Basically, like almost every Booker winner, this too is a character-oriented novel. If you don’t enjoy character-driven literary fiction, this won’t work for you. However, to lit-fic readers, this novel will come as a fresh voice offering a perspective on a topic not commonly seen in fiction.

Recommended for sure but to a specific set of readers.

My thanks to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Trigger: It is a book about a war photographer’s experiences. Think every trigger related to war, and you will find it in this book. It is not for the faint-hearted.