The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is the winner of this year’s Booker Prize. Set in 1980s Sri Lanka, the action takes place amidst the violence of Tamils versus Sinhalese versus Indians, not to mention a variety of outside groups and organizations connected to them. The main character is a photographer and gambler, the gay son of Burgher/Tamil mother and Sinhalese father. Maali Almeida says he is not on any side partaking in the violence in Sri Lanka, that his goal is to take the photograph that will expose the truth, change minds, end fighting, and bring peace. Maali works for nearly a decade, photographing multiple massacres, countless dead bodies and atrocities, but also secretly taking photos of important men who wouldn’t want these images released. Maali, it should be mentioned, is also constantly in debt and is a serial cheater when it comes to his boyfriend, the son of a government minister.
Maali Almeida is already dead when story begins, and he has entered the In Between, a place like purgatory where souls have one week (7 moons) to get their affairs in order and then move on to the Light, which is whatever the person needs it to be. The In Between is like a big DMV office with long lines, complaining people, and too few administrators. Maali is approached by a figure in white named Dr. Ranee, whom Maali had photographed in life; she was the victim of a political killing for her moderate progressive views but now she works in the In Between, ushering souls through to The Light. She urges Maali to follow the steps for moving on to The Light, while a figure in black named Sena tells Maali that The Light is a scam meant to keep everyone ignorant and prevent any change for the better down below (on Earth). Sena was also the victim of a political killing and is determined to recruit as many dead as possible to form an army and exact revenge on the perpetrators on Earth. Maali cannot remember how he died though it was clearly a violent death, a murder. Sena assures Maali that the same men who killed Sena are responsible for Maali’s death too. Rather than follow Dr. Ranee’s advice, Maali follows Sena and learns how to navigate the world where the living are. The dead can revisit the places their body existed as well as anywhere they can hear their name spoken. Maali learns to ride the winds and see where his body and his friends are. A very few like Sena have the ability to whisper to the living and influence them. Maali wants this ability very badly so that he can communicate with his girlfriend Jaki and boyfriend Dilan and tell them where his secret stash of photos and negatives are — the ones that he believes will bring change. Sena however, tells Maali that in order to get this power he will have to make a deal with the Mahakali, i.e. the Demon of a Thousand Faces who consumes the souls that do not make it to the Light. Over the course of several moons, Maali begins to gradually remember the events just prior to his death as well as his past, and he follows Jaki and Dilan as they try to find out what happened to Maali and who he was working for. All the while Dr. Ranee reappears and tries to convince Maali that he needs to forget about revenge and move forward.
The parallels between the real world and the In Between are central to the story. In both this world and the afterlife there are warring factions and shifting alliances, secrets and a sense that no one person or entity is all powerful. Maali in the In Between, as in his Earth life, does not want to choose a side; he is focused on his personal objectives: getting the damning photos, getting the negatives to his friends so that they will be publicized. But in both environments Maali finds it increasingly difficult to be neutral. His selfishness will reach its limits in rather exciting climaxes in both worlds.
If you are not familiar with 1980s Sri Lanka (like me) this book will demonstrate the complicated and violent tangle of interests there — racial, religious, political, class, plus foreign influences and vestiges of colonialism. Maali represents this mix through his parentage and personal/professional relationships, and his job as a journalist and a “fixer” (someone who can hook up foreign journalists with leaders of various warring groups) means that he has worked for all sides while claiming allegiance to none. In life he was in demand to take photos of the dead from massacres so that one side might justify violence against another. In death, his photos and the negatives, now known to include many images that certain important men do not want exposed, put his friends in grave danger and could mean that the truth never gets exposed.
Maali’s final recollection of his death and the violence that Sena and the vengeful souls plan to exact on the living lead to a thrilling climax in the story. Even though Maali is dead, he is at risk of losing his soul to the Mahakali. Maali himself is a great character — exasperating, annoying and still somehow likable. He is an asshole — a liar, unfaithful, sometimes cruel, usually selfish. And yet he has seen atrocities, has risked his life, wants to change the terrible world that he witnesses, and genuinely cares about Jaki and Dilan. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, this novel does have quite a bit of humor in it (Maali is pretty snarky) but the violence is deeply disturbing to read. This is an excellent and fascinating story. If you are looking to read non-western voices and under-represented cultures, this would be a great choice.