Author: Shehan Karunatilaka –
Publisher: Marginesy (PL), Sort of Books –
Genre: Fiction –
Overall rating: 6/5 –
Writing: 6/5 –
Duration: 15:27 h (medium) –
Narrator: Krzysztof Polkowski (Polish) –
Narrator/performance: 5/5 –
Impressions: 2/5 –
Performance errors: 0/5 –
Complexity/reading level: n/a –
Audience: General
Commentary/review
“The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” is a timeless masterpiece. It is Michail Bulgakov for the Buddhist Asia – although I suspect it is actually better than “Master and Margarita”. It is mature, weird, culturally cross-referenced and cathartic. It creates a terrifying world of its own and the reader wants to be in it. It is a work of genius.
The book is about the Sri Lankan genocide. However, the story is sufficiently filled with artistic flourish to make the topic digestible even for young adult audiences, in my opinion.
The story is so polished it almost sounds like written by an academic. I am fascinated by the fact that this is the second novel published by Shehan Karunatilaka. It deserves nothing less than the Booker Prize it got in 2022. It is almost certainly my Book of the Year 2024.
I strongly recommend listening to “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers close to the book’s end. From then on, you will cry every time you hear it. I suppose it was intended by the Author.
As I do not read print for pleasure, I got to know the book in Polish, read by Krzysztof Polkowski. The voice acting was missing but the book was still brilliant. The narrator was invested in the story, not his own voice.
Apologies for the super short review; I wrote it from my mobile during heatwave.
The cover is wonderfully colorful, mysterious and a little terrifying. It refers both to Mahakali and to modern(ish) pop-culture. Very smart and elegant; commercially brilliant.
Cover Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash