By Pramod Kandanarachchi –

Seven Moons of Maali Almeida Fiction novel by Shehan Karunatilaka. Published by Penguin Random House India 2022. ISBN# 9780143459675

Shehan Karunatilaka’s Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (a.k.a. Devil Dance or Chats with the Dead) won the prestigious Booker Prize for the best English novel in 2022 earning not only fame to the author but also tribute to our motherland plus pride to Sri Lankans all over the world.

He was shortlisted for Gratiaen Prize in 2015 for the same work and 2020 for his unpublished work named The Painter. Perhaps his first novel called Chinaman was the most acclaimed and talked about literary piece until the Booker Price elevated his status to new heights.

This story set in 1989/1990 Sri Lanka—discussing the real-life horrors of JVP insurrection, war with LTTE, atrocities of IPKF, the brutal reaction from the state and all that had gone wrong in our country—is told through the perceptions of Malinda Almeida, a freelancing photojournalist, drifting in an alternative existence made up by Shehan Karunatilaka’s vivid imagination. It is a fascinating read—quite addictive too. I was able to finish it in two moons (i.e., two nights by Shehan’s definition), a personal record for a slow-reading bookworm.

Now I feel like saying something about it too.

However, I believe that we need to address the 800-pound gorilla in the room first; to be fair to Shehan, his fans and obviously to his accuser. There is a serious allegation from a senior Sri Lankan journalist of plagiarism that was denied by the author. No evidence was offered in public domain by either party so we will have to wait for any litigation amongst the concerned and until then presume his innocence (in an unrelated note yet by the same token we need to withhold judgment on Danushka Gunathilaka and his accuser until his criminal prosecution is complete).

So, I did everything humanly possible to disregard any aspersions casted on this book while enjoying it privately and commenting here publicly.

This metaphysical political satire begins after the death of the protagonist Maali Almeida. He has seven moons (seven nights) in the ‘In Between’ before crossing over through ‘The Light’, but, until then must make do with fellow ghosts, mala-perethas, just-perethas, yakkas, Mahasona, Mahakali, etc. There is all manner of transient creatures in this place (apparently no Khumbhandas)—some good, some bad, some ugly and some evil…

Shehan takes us through this fascinating universe he created in his mind while shining light on our own reality, delusions, misfortunes, injustices, inequalities, brutality and many more conditions. Obviously, he does this with masterful utilization of English language offering cornucopia of wisecracks while depicting a surreal vision of Sri Lanka’s civil wars in this sly and angry comic as described by the judges of the Booker Prize.

This transit place called ‘In Between’ is no better—maybe worse—than whatever the fecal-hole country we live in this world. In case you expect to experience some serenity after you kicked the bucket, be warned. You better run to The Light before Mahakali, or her minions get to you!

Although the ‘In Between’ in the sky has an ensemble of a wide range of characters arrived from various backgrounds, Maali Almeida’s down to earth acquaintances in Colombo are anything but ‘Down-to-Earth’. His privileged circle of friends patronizing Colombo’s upscale nightclubs, casinos, and Party Scene (obviously nothing is wrong with that) constraints the insights the author could have offered to us about that era of our country’s history. At times it feels that he is not even representing the so-called Colombo-7 crowed in 1989/90 accurately, but superficially depicting ‘Woke’ worldview of liberal elites in San Fransisco.

Perhaps representing socio-economic or cultural forces operating thirty years ago in Sri Lanka was not Shehan Karunatilaka’s intention in writing this fable. If that is the case, I should offer my apologies before moving on.

Maali Almeida, and by extension Shehan Karunatilaka, take rather pessimistic or dismissive take on all the players operating at that time: JVP, LTTE, politicians, armed forces, India, diplomats, CIA, arms dealers and even the people caught in between those forces. This is not necessarily a view inconsistent with the present-day sentiment that all the 225 lawmakers and all the institutions they oversee deserve contempt and condemnation.

There is a significant amount of chaos in the afterlife place. Some are looking forward to moving on through The Light. There are numerous do-gooders helping them achieve that. Some can’t get over the injustices they suffered in the previous birth and plotting revenge. Interestingly, many JVP and LTTE ghosts have put aside the differences they had on earth and form an all-party alliance (‘Sarvapaakshika’ government?). Then there are malevolent forces waiting to take advantage of their predicament and steal their souls—just like on earth.

Maali Almeida cannot simply cross over because he has unfinished business in Colombo. He must make a deal with the devil, in this case Mahakali, risking his soul in the process—again just like what happens to most of us on earth.

The reading becomes a tad tedious toward the end since there seems to be an attempt by the author to explain everything away rather than allowing the readers to employ their own imagination.

I love the last page when Maali bonds with a ghost who happens to be a beast too.

This commentary will be incomplete if Maali Almeida’s sexual orientation and his sexuality are not discussed since the author repeatedly reminds us of both throughout the book.

According to how Shehan presents Maali’s case; his life, death, and afterlife are defined by three internal facets of his identity—dedicated photojournalist, gay man in 1980s Sri Lanka, promiscuous lover. Three external factors shaping his destiny are the civil wars, his lover DD, and his friend Jaki. We don’t know which of these aspects Shehan wants us to empathize with in his story since we can’t read his mind. But, considering the amount of coverage he has given to Maali’s sexual orientation and sexuality in the book, one can presume that it is not just the horrors of civil wars that Shehan wants to talk about. He is duly defending Maali’s right to happiness in whatever the way he desired. It is sad that Maali had to face derision not only in his life and at his death, but even after his death. Unfortunately, those afterlife creatures that one day we all may become are also not free of intolerance and malice that we practice on this earth. So, kudos to Shehan for being brave and celebrating the LGBTQ+ lifestyle choice of a fellow human being.

But I have mixed feelings about the way Maali’s sexuality is incessantly depicted. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having multiple consenting partners. Perhaps Shehan intended to rub that fact in our face since he knows most of us are not Woke enough to decouple sexual orientation from sexuality. However, it is possible that the way his sex-life was portrayed could be counterproductive and as an unintended consequence feed into homophobia since gay men and lesbian females are erroneously stereotyped frequently as incapable of having loving and committed relationships.