Why a Booktrail?
1990: A satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil war.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
What you need to know before your trail
Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet queen, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the Beira Lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time when scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts who cluster around him 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. .
Locations
Reset- Sri Lanka - Colombo
- A: Beira Lake
- B: Ccolombo - Government
- C: Colombo harbour
- D: Point Pedro
- E: Galle
Travel Guide
Colombo and the afterlife
Some of the book is set in Colombo but most of it is set in the afterlife
The book however is set against the backdrop when Sri Lanka was caught in perhaps the bloodiest moments of history and contains many historical and poltical events – the Indian Peacekeeping Force is fighting in the North, the LTTE is killing in the East and the Government is hunting JVP insurgents in the South.
“Do not be afraid of ghosts, it is the living we should fear. Human horrors trump anything that Hollywood or the afterlife can conjure”
“Karma is worse than any bullshit god. It tells us to do nothing about the suffering of others”
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Destination/Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka Author: Shehan Karunatilaka Departure: 1990 onwards
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