Number 95 - The seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka

 

This was the Booker Prize wimer in 22.  Winning that particular prize is not necessarily a guarantee of a good read, and is never a guarantee of an easy read (in my experience).

This book is no exception to part two of that statement. This is written in second person (you did this, you did that) in a freewheeling, almost stream of consciousness style that did not always make it easy to realise what was going on.  Add to that a complex plot involving lots of characters and groups, and lots of Sri Lankan politics from the 80s and 90s, and the potential is there for something totally unreadable.

However this was actually a very good read and well worth the effort. I kind of remembered something about the politics of the book from news reports when I was growing up which made some of the book easier to follow.

Maali Alneida is a photographer.  He's just been murdered prior to the story beginning. Bu who, or what organisation is not going to be revealed quickly. Neither is the why. The list of people with reason to kill him seems to grow with every page.

Despite being dead, Maali has his own problems still.  In the afterlife he has seven moons to sort himself out and try to communicate with those he left behind on the mortal plane. Can he guide his friends and loved ones to the photos he left behind which could change the face of the country? If he doesn't go through the light inside of the seven moons, he could find himself stranded "in between" and prey to demons and worse creatures that roam the afterlife.

This was a challenge to read but well worth it. The second person narration grew on me despite the weirdness of a whole novel in this narrative voice.  It's quite possibly the best complete story I've read in this voice.

The story winds personal struggles and loves with the politics and factions in a horribly violent section of human history. This is gruesome enough to satisfy the horror fan in me. Maali is not a likable character, but he's certainly compelling. there is a reason that so many people have so many good reasons to want him dead. This book also has one of the finest pieces of misdirection I've seen in the final chapters. The solutions to the questions are convincing and totally satisfying.

I'm very glad I read this. It was a worthy winner of the award. It weaved actual events and attacks into the storyline seamlessly enough that the fantastical events become so much more viable. It's a nightmare vision of what might come after, but there is a glimmer of hope present.

If you like a challenging but worthwhile read, this is a very good option.