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THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA by Shehan Karunatilaka

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Maali is a 1980s war photographer in Sri Lanka with a box of incriminating hidden photos that he wants to come to light.  Unfortunately, Maali is dead.  He is now a spirit residing in the In Between for seven days and floats around to observe anyone who speaks his name.  He therefore serves as an omniscient narrator, commenting on what happens in the aftermath of his death.  He would also like to discover who murdered him, and there are possibilities aplenty.  This book was a challenge to read, not only because I’m not familiar at all with Sri Lanka’s history, but also because the characters have long and unfamiliar names, making them difficult for me to distinguish.  The author seems to assume that the reader is familiar with the historical events in Sri Lanka’s history, the vocabulary, and the names and acronyms of the various warring factions.  I tried to keep up but failed miserably, and although I didn’t understand half of what was happening in the country, the parts of the book that I did understand were powerful.  The author reveals insights into humanity’s struggles that are worth mentioning.  For instance, he notes that no major religion forbids rape and that all civilizations are built on genocide.  Think about it.  On page 345 Maali’s father says this:

‘”You know why the battle of good vs evil is so one-sided, Malin?  Because evil is better organized, better equipped and better paid.  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.’”

That sounds too frighteningly familiar.



This post first appeared on Patti's Pages, please read the originial post: here

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THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA by Shehan Karunatilaka

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