What a moving story and it worked all the better for being in second person.

Such a beautiful tale. I’m gutted the audiobook didn’t work for me as I had to pay a little more attention and I struggled with listing but reading the tale was an experience.

The characters were so loving and heart wrenching. The setting more so because it was real.

My only gripe is how is ended. It was building up to this big thing and it felt as if we started back where we began. I felt a bit let down but overall the story was moving and enjoyable.

This took me a little while to get in to but I really liked the premise and the storyline! Narrator was very soothing so a few rewinds were required!

3.5*

Thanks to the publisher for an eArc via NetGalley.

I loved this book. Dark, funny, angry, queer, political, and complicated. The audio narrator is excellent and I'm so happy I was able to listen to it.

The book is not for the faint of heart. I love listening to different narrators from different countries because it is a very immersive experience.

Unlikeable central protagonists are usually not something that I enjoy, but this time, there were so many points of introspection here that I could not help but champion (towards the end) this man with dubious morals(at least in the beginning).

Maali Almeida is dead. There is no doubt about that. It is 1990, and Sri Lanka is in the midst of a civil war. There is a doubt, however, of how Maali met his end and why. His ‘ghost’ has seven moons to find out more about his death, but he keeps being distracted by all the goings-on in the world he has never seen before.

It is rare for me to ‘like’ a book with this much swearing and bloodshed, but there was a time and place for everything that happened in the book. Each character introduced to us is multi-dimensional, and we get a glimpse at different points of view of all the roles they all play. The way the plot progresses and moral quandaries are there for the reader/listener to explore.

The highlight has to be the finale. There are two parts that stuck out for me -the reason for the way I am currently rating the book. One is the personal angle of what actually happened to Maali and why. The second is the task that Maali wanted to be carried out from the beyond and what actually happened with it.

The frustrations in this book are genuine, and they leap off the page. There is no satisfaction to be had in the world described to us, something I usually do not appreciate, but once again, in this context, it makes sense for things to end (or for us to leave them) the way we see.

I highly recommend this to people looking for a different kind of book. As long as the reader is okay with not liking the primary character initially, there is more to be seen and heard here.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.

Great narration and beautiful story! Thank you for providing the audio!! I would definitely recommend to others and have already suggested it to my book club!

I loved the narrator of this audiobook. They really brought it to life. You are hooked in with a man waking up in heaven, and figuring out why he died, whilst exploring the political landscape of sri lanka for the reader. Very good audiobook.

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 serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round 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.
Sri Lanka's foremost author delivers a rip-roaring epic, full of mordant wit and disturbing truths.

I am not sure audio is the best way to discover this book. It is an excellent novel, but only when I read it in physical copy (just now) could I fully appreciate it and did not get lost. That is not to say it wasn't well done - on the contrary, the narrator is excellent.

My thanks to Bolinda Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ by Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize. It was narrated by Shivantha Wijesinha.

In Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1990. Maali Almeida is a war photographer, a gambler and a closeted gay man. He has woken up dead in what appears to be a celestial visa office. He has no idea who killed him though there is a depressingly long list of suspects. He only has seven moons to contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka.

The narrative follows Maali Almeida’s journey through the various layers of the afterlife as he seeks to deal with his unfinished business before time runs out.

I had first read this novel in October 2022 when it was part of the Booker Prize shortlist. I was especially intrigued by the interaction between the mundane world and the world of the spirits. It also left me curious about the history of Sri Lanka as well as its mythology and folklore. It was a multilayered novel and I appreciated having the opportunity to reread it via its audiobook edition.

The narrator, actor and singer/songwriter Shivantha Wijesinha, is Sri Lankan and so brought an authenticity to the character’s voices throughout.

I learnt that this was a very personal project for him as he had lived through the civil war before his family emigrated to Australia. In an interview he states: “I have walked the streets and spoken to the people and been to the places in this book. I have tasted Sri Lanka’s grief and cried her tears”. A powerful testimony and I felt that he was the perfect narrator for this important novel.

Overall, I found ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ an outstanding work of literary fiction and a worthy winner of the Booker Prize. It is a complex narrative that combines satire with surrealist moments as well as being a powerful drama that exposes the brutality of civil war.

Very highly recommended.

A tour de force!

I listened to the audio copy but now I must buy the hard copy as there are so many parts I want to read again. I want to see how the novel is laid out on the page and revel in its humour and wonderful language.

A magnificent book, beautifully narrated.

I'm sorry it took me so long to discover - and review - this book. Amazingly, I had forgotten I had it.

Couldn’t have loved this more. Complex and thought-provoking, made me wonder what might lie ahead of us all… and where I would end up. Was completely engrossed by the political plot - couldn’t stop listening!

I will be coming back to this book in the later time as for now it was unfortunately a dnf. I was not in the mood for the genre.

Audio review: The narrator was phenomenal. Really brought life to each character, gave the 2nd person voice of the author it’s own flare and delivered a nuanced and sensitive performance without ever losing the edge of the dark humour.





Main review: I went into this not knowing anything about it. If I end up reading a Booker Prize nominee, it’s usually by accident because the book has attracted me in some other way. This was an impulse request that I almost regretted afterwards, worried that I’d picked something I wouldn’t like. In fact, I was initially put off by the second person pov. However after listening for about 20mins, I was drawn in by the story set against the backdrop of a conflict I know nothing about. As far as I can tell, this book leans on Sri Lankan folklore in it’s choice of storytelling mode. The main character (who at points is also you since the narrator/ author speaks to you in 2nd person) is a war photographer named Maali who died under mysterious and probably violent circumstances. He doesn’t remember what happened to him but travelling through a world of ghosts and ghouls, he has seven moons to come to terms with his life and death, whilst leading his boyfriend, girlfriend and mother to negatives of photos he took that could clarify everything. The story then travels almost portmanteau style through time, following the course of the Sri Lankan civil war – a time of violent upheaval and just plain violence, with a least six political factions (or basically well organised gangs) all squabbling over the territory. Being a gay man in 1983 Sri-Lanka was already difficult due to religious, cultural and socio-political reasons before you add in a civil war. But don’t let that make you think Maali is a saint. He’s an average human with plenty of flaws – a gambler, a serial cheater and fairly divorced from his own emotions. He’s also a really compelling character to act as vessel for this kind of story. I’ll stop there because I don’t want to head into spoiler territory but this is full of unflinching descriptions, mordant wit, cynicism but also hope, as well as being a deep dive into the meaning of life, death and religion. It’s beautifully written and utterly compelling. I loved it.

I wanted to read this novel since I first heard about it, however I was intimidated by its size; although it took me a while to get into it, I loved it and this audiobook made the experience even richer.

Unfortunately I didn’t finish listening to this book as I found it very confusing. I’ve only ready one other book that is written in the second person and I find it an alienating experience. Disappointed as I’d read wonderful reviews about this title.

this was okay, but read very juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

This story is epic. It's frustrating to be a late reviewer as there's nothing new to add that hasn't already been said beautifully by others before now.

The narrator is occasionally nasally, taking one out of the narrative.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida centers around a closeted photographer who dies during the height of the Civil War in Sri Lanka. The audiobook narration was excellent and kept me engaged throughout, although there were times that I felt the book dragged and went into unnecessary details.

My downfall for this book was likely the fact I listened to this as an audiobook. I think it's one that required a bit more focus and commitment than I was able to give at the time. I felt confused at certain points, although I have read a few other reviews and it doesn't look like I was alone in this feeling. I didn't feel a strong desire to pick this book up so three stars from me.

I can really understand now why this book won so many prizes

It's such a unique and different tale and the cover is really eye-catching as well. Do yourself a favor a go read this one.