2023/062: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida — Shehan Karunatilaka

2023/062: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida — Shehan Karunatilaka

Being a ghost isn’t that different to being a war photographer. Long periods of boredom interspersed with short bursts of terror. As action-packed as your post-death party has been, most of it is spent watching people staring at things. People stare a lot, break wind all the time, and touch their genitals much too much. [loc. 2845]

If Maali Almeida had a business card, it would say 'photographer, gambler, slut'. He is -- he was -- a war photographer documenting appalling crimes during the Sri Lankan civil war; a reckless gambler who lies about his habit; a flamboyant gay man who cheats on his partner DD (a Cabinet Minister's son) with countless random hookups. Maali was a complex man: now he is dead, and in an afterlife of hellish bureaucracy. ( Read more... )