A review by 100booksyearly
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

challenging dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Engaging, funny and dark. I loved its creativity and its concept, a very pleasant surprise. A photographer in the afterlife sets out to expose the carnage of Sri Lanka’s civil wars. As a travelling ghost he tries to clean up his mess and expose the corruption of the Sri Lankan government and foreign companies benefiting from the war. The novel also references several historical events and personalities from the civil war.

“It is not monsters or yakas or demons we should fear. Organised collectives of evil doers who think they are performing the work of the righteous. That is what should make us shudder.”

Themes: ATROCITIES OF WAR POLICE INEFFICIENCY POLITICS RIVALRIES MILITARY BRUTALITIES LGBTQIA+