Shehan Karunatilaka in conversation with Marlon James

We are excited to announce a special online event with Shehan Karunatilaka, discussing his 2022 Booker Prize Winning novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida with the 2015 Booker Prize Winning author, Marlon James.

About the book
A searing satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil war, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida follows the adventure of the eponymous war photographer, gambler and closet gay, who 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. Maali 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. The Booker judges said the book “fizzes with energy, imagery and ideas against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars.”

Watch the discussion here.