The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the Beira Lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time when scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts who cluster around him can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try and contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka. Ten years after his prizewinning novel Chinaman established him as one of Sri Lanka's foremost authors, Karunatilaka is back with a rip-roaring epic, full of mordant wit and disturbing truths.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

When Sri Lankan photographer Maali Almeida wakes up dead amid the country's bloody civil war, he is not surprised. A disillusioned photojournalist, gambler, and closeted gay man in repressive 1980s Colombo, his murder at the hands of unknown persons is less a shocking mystery than a personal hassle after his life full of lies, trauma, and violence. Now, faced with an afterlife as full of confusion, politics, and bureaucracy as the one he just exited, Maali has only seven moons to help his living loved ones fulfill his final purpose. Before he does that, however, he must reconnect with what his life's purpose might have been in the first place. Karunatilaka (Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew) brilliantly uses Maali's humor and horror to draw readers into Sri Lankan political history and mythology, all while straddling the line between detective fiction and war satire. Shivantha Wijesinha's narration is equally strong, adding easy flourish and ironic vitality to the wide-ranging cast of characters who drive its plot. VERDICT A gleefully grim and entertaining journey of life and death during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Highly recommended for fans of South Asian literature and historical fiction. Winner of the 2022 Booker Prize.--Robin Chin Roemer