That necessitates explaining a host of ethnic and political factions, plus outside forces from India to the United States, on top of which Karunatilaka layers a host of otherworldly ghouls, demons, and spirits that Maali has to navigate. How was he killed? Who killed him? What has happened to his lover, Dilan, and his best friend, Jaki? And can he somehow tip them off to the location of photos he shot that reveal the depths of the war-torn island’s atrocities? With that setup, Karunatilaka's novel is at once a murder mystery and a historical novel of the island nation’s violent struggles throughout the '80s. He could head Light-ward right away, but Maali has too many unanswered questions. There, he’s informed that he has seven moons (i.e., nights) to remain on Earth as a ghost before entering the Light and the next life. Karunatilaka’s rich, engrossing second novel, the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, opens with its title character in a post-mortem waiting room in 1990. A murdered Sri Lankan photojournalist strives to put his afterlife to good use.
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