The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

An unforgettable book, my husband bought the hard copy which he devoured, I was delighted when my request to receive an advance copy of the audiobook was approved and my joy was well-founded, if you read/listen to one book this year make it this one.

This book is absolutely beautiful.

I was initially just drawn to the beautiful cover and had no idea what the book was about, but once I started listening to the audiobook I found it really difficult to stop. It's so beautifully written and tackles some really dark topics really well.

I absolutely loved this, it's a new favourite of mine for sure!

I've really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator captured the essence of the storyline perfectly. Although this has some darker moments I found it to be lighthearted in parts too.. its written in quite a quirky way too. Overall I enjoyed it

LOVED this story. so cool and unique. one of my favourites so far of the year. It's not surprising in the slightest that this book won the Booker prize for 2022!

I can one hundred percent see why this book won the Booker Prize. I loved it! I thought it was superb. She an epic story!

Set in 1990 during the Sri Lankan Civil War, Maali Ameida is a newly deceased photo journalist. He has seven days and night (moons) to decide whether to move into 'the light' or stay in 'the in between' limbo.

Set against a backdrop of curfews, death squads, terror attacks and suicide this isn't for the squeamish.

Maali must learn the scope of his limbo state surrounded by the spirits that walk amongst the living, while trying to work out how and why he died, try to find out the fate of his unseen photos. It's a sprawling epic, rich in Sri Lankan colour, history and myth.

This novel won The Booker Prize 2022, and I chose it as part of my efforts to broaden my reading genres. I'm pleased I chose the audiobook, I may have struggled to get into reading the book. There are Sri Lankan names, place names, acronyms and terms in every other sentence.

The audiobook narrator Shivantha Wijesinha bought it to life, and once settled in I was very impressed by the characters voices and rhythms. Some of the demon voices are genuinely scary.

Very powerful, there are big reflections of life and death, war and peace, the beauty of Sri Lanka and the devastation caused by the Civil War.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio

Grab this audiobook!

The Seven Books was the WINNER of the Booker Prize, 2022

Sri Lankan all around whirlwind photographer Maali Almeida has died! He is set up in a heavenly in between area, waiting for what is next. He is unsure what has happened but is determined to use the time he has left (seven moons) to "help" his friends and family uncover some very salacious photos he took before his death. As he travel in a. ghostlike way at breakneck speed you will learn all about the political unrest and upheaval plaguing the land and the mistakes he made when was alive. If you love a dense and quickly moving story of a land that may be far away (but not too different from here) then The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is for you!
. #Bolinda #ShehanKarunatilaka #TheSevenMoonsOfMaaliAlmeida

This was my first audiobook in a while and possibly the best one I’ve listened to. I feel like the second person perspective made it so immersive to listen to. the novel follows Maali Almeida as he experiences his seven moons (the seven days following his death spent in the afterlife to reflect upon his life and choose the next step). It was a fascinating depiction of the afterlife, unlike any I had read of before, it had the strange combination of being part unsettling and part oddly comforting as a concept. Maali is attempting to discover the truth behind his death whilst also finding a way to release his very graphic political war photography into the world posthumously. This is a very dark book in terms of how much violence is involved as it is set in a time of extreme political unrest and corruption so I would advise checking any trigger warnings. The character growth of Maali as he interacts with the other spirits and is exposed to all the other perspectives on religion, life and the afterlife was really powerful, and I feel like he develops his own voice by the end of the novel and becomes a much more likeable character. I think this is one that will stick with me for a while and would recommend it to anyone looking for a magical realism meets historical/ political fiction with a little bit of dark humour. I will definitely be reading anything else Karunatilaka brings out.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Shehan Karunatilaka
2022 Literary Fiction Audiobook 14 hours
Sri Lanka

4/5

Thank you to NetGalley for access to this audiobook

"History is people with ships and weapons wiping out those who forgot to invent them. Every civilisation begins with a genocide. It is the rule of the universe"

Set in Sri Lanka in the 1980s. The central character, Maali Almeida, is a dead photographer who sets out to solve the mystery of his own death and is given one week ("seven moons") during which he can travel between the afterlife and the real world.

I usually prefer the short list for the Booker Prize rather than the winner but I enjoyed The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida not only for the historical perspective but for the way the writing (and the narrator for the audiobook) brought you on a journey.

Thank you for granting me access to this audiobook.
So, I had already read this book in its physical form but I was curious about how the listening experience would be. I'm not disappointed at all. I think the narrator gives a stellar performance.

Queer, historical-fantasy/ magical-realism? Sign me up.

As expected and hoped, this was phenomenal. Vivid description, dark humour, morally ambiguous unreliable narrator and a pinch of a history lesson - this book was a heady cocktail of different genres, with a fascinating cast of characters. We follow Maali in the "in between" - where he has seven moons (or days) to find out who killed him and complete his life's work of getting his photographs into the right hands.

While there were a few moments where the pacing dragged for me, on the whole it was utterly compelling. The narrator of the audiobook really bought the world of Maali Almeida to life - it was a great audiobook experience.

CW: War, gore, death, descriptions of graphic violence, sexual assault, war crimes, suicide

This book is wildly good. Spectacularly well written and the perfect example of an imperfect protagonist. I was completely sucked into the messy life (and after life) of Maali Almeida and transfixed by the imagination of the author who created an entire in between world in purgatory. I immensely enjoyed the twist at the end, which I didn't see coming in the slightest. I have already recommended it to others and will continue to do so.

This book takes a fascinating a heartbreaking look at Singapore in the late 80s and early 90s. Politics, corruption and the violence that cost tens of thousands of lives are the backdrop for a story unlike I’ve read before. It also takes an interesting look at the afterlife, taking inspiration from a variety of beliefs.

When the main character finds himself in the afterlife as his body sinks into a lake, he has seven moons to work out who killed him and why. The mystery incorporates the legacy he leaves behind and the impact he had not just on those he loved, but how his work as a photographer could have a huge impact on his entire country.

At times hilarious and at others heart-wrenching, this book was beautifully written and was a very deserving winner of the 2022 Booker Prize.

The narrator was absolutely brilliant and made the experience feel very immersive.

*A big thank-you to Shehan Karunatilaka, Bolinda Audio, and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review*
Book focusing on the tragic period of Sri Lanka's history, with ethnic cleansing and atrocities committed on all sides. One of the novels that leave a reader stunned with the intensity of cruelty that can be inflicted by humans. I can understand why this novel won the Author a high prize since his vision how to describe those unfathomable events is most original and allows for engaging reader to the full.

This book is completely unique - I don’t think I’ve ever come across something like it before, and yet, I feel like I know the characters so well, and that I was guided by an expert hand from the first page. It deserves all the praise it is getting. A worthy Booker winner.