The Booker Prize winner Karunatilaka’s ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ is a satire set in Srilanka in the backdrop of the civil war.
Srilankan author Stephen Karunatilaka’s ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ is the winner of the Booker Prize 2022.
Announced on the 17th of October in London, Stephen Karunatalika is the second author of Srilankan descent to win this prize.
https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida
Having written travel stories, rock songs and screenplays, ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ is Karuntilaka’s second novel.
In 2011, he made his literary debut when his debut book, Chinaman, received the DSL Prize, Commonwealth Book Prize and the Gratiaen Prize.
Taking 7 years to complete and comprising 386 pages, Karunatilaka’s book gives a humane account of the war and violence.
Defined as, “a searing, mordantly funny satire set amid the murderous mayhem of a Sri Lanka beset by civil war,” the book has been proclaimed for its witty and humourous character.
‘This is a metaphysical thriller, an afterlife noir that dissolves the boundaries not just of different genres, but of life and death, body and spirit, east and west. It is an entirely serious philosophical romp that takes the reader to ’the world’s dark heart’ — the murderous horrors of civil war in Sri Lanka. And once there, the reader also discovers the tenderness and beauty, the love and loyalty, and the pursuit of an ideal that justify every human life.’
-Neil MacGregor, Chair of the 2022 judges
Tomb of Sand authored by Geetanjali Shree, which Daisy Rockwell translated from Hindi, was awarded the International Booker Prize this year.
READ MORE: Communicable Diseases: How can you keep yourself safe?
