WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022 LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2023 A searing satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil war 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. 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. 'Fizzes with energy, imagery and ideas against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars' The Booker judges 'Recalls the mordant wit and surrealism of Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls or Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita ... Karunatilaka has done artistic justice to a terrible period in his country's history' Guardian 'Outstanding... the most significant work of Sri Lankan fiction in a decade.' New European

An epic, searing satire by Sri Lanka's coolest author

About the Author
Shehan Karunatilaka is the multi-award winning author of Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is his second novel. Born in Colombo, he studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore.

Reviews
Fizzes with energy, imagery and ideas against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars. * The Booker judges *
Recalls the mordant wit and surrealism of Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls or Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita ... Karunatilaka has done artistic justice to a terrible period in his country's history * Guardian *
Brilliant ... rollicking ... a pleasure to read. Karunatilaka writes with tinder-dry wit and an unfaltering ear for prose cadences. -- Kate McLoughlin * Times Literary Supplement *
Outstanding ... the most significant work of Sri Lankan fiction in a decade * New European *
An exuberant whodunnit ...There can't be many novels that simultaneously bring to mind Agatha Christie, Salman Rushdie and John le Carre - but this one does * The Times *
This magic realist (and often funny) novel fizzes with energy and ideas... Imagine a mash-up of Stranger Things and Salman Rushdie -- Robbie Millen * The Times *
Shehan Karunatilaka's epic novel is a powerful evocation of Sri Lanka's dark and brutal past -- Lucy Popescu * Financial Times *
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is dazzling. Shehan Karunatilaka's use of Sri Lankan folk mythology is truly original ... human and non-human monsters equally terrify. And yet Karunatilaka's exuberant language and humour keeps this book buoyant and a joy to read -- Shyam Selvadurai, author of Funny Boy
A brave and brilliantly inventive novel, full of energy, about a mad bad world in a dark time -- Romesh Gunesekera, author of Reef and Monkfish Moon
Shehan Karunatilaka's narrative is breathtakingly kaleidoscopic * Financial Times *
Audacious, original and perfectly formed -- Suzanne Harrington * Writers Mosaic *
A roaring talent ...Throw yourself into the arms of this book, relish its wild phantasmagorical ride. It's the most worthy Booker winner for many years -- Neil Mackay * Herald *



Book Information
ISBN 9781908745903
Author Shehan Karunatilaka
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint Sort of Books
Publisher Sort of Books
Weight(grams) 512g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 148mm * 40mm