What do you need to know about the Booker Prize 2022 winner ?

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For those not familiar with the Booker Prize, it is possibly the most prestigious literary prize, for a single work of fiction published in the UK in English. Judges work their way through a long list and a short list to name only one winner in the end. For 2022, that winner is Shehan Karunatilaka, a Sri Lankan author, for his book The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

Never heard of him? No worries, we'll bring you up to speed!

Who is Shehan Karunatilaka?

The Sri Lankan-born author has lived and worked all around the world. With a series of studies, including both literature and business administration, he has worked as a writer for several advertising agencies as well as some well-known publications like Newsweek, National Geographic and The Guardian.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is only his second published novel. His debut, Chinaman, was self-published in 2010, after a long struggle to find anyone willing to publish a cricket novel about the history of Sri Lanka.

Chinaman was critically hailed however, winning several awards, such as The Commonwealth Book Prize, in 2012.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

In The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, the author returns to Sri Lankan History. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet queen, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the Beira Lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time when scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons during a bloody civil war, the list of suspects is depressingly long. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He 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 Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is labeled as a 'supernatural satire', but is clearly one of those books that refuses to be labeled into any particular genre. Head judge Neil MacGregor praised the "scope and the skill, the daring, the audacity and hilarity" of the novel, calling it an "afterlife noir" which "takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death".

The author himself did admit to tone down the audacity after the recent attempt on Salman Rushdie earlier this year. He does hope however this book can play a vital part in the learning process Sri Lanka and South-East Asia as a whole, is going through.

The Booker Prize 2022 was announced on October 17, 2022 and presented to the author by Camilla, the Queen Consort.

(Source: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/reading-guide-the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida-by-shehan-karunatilaka)

Buy this book: https://amzn.to/3ujWNQo

Disclaimer: This site earns a small commission fee if you buy using any of the commercial links. This will not cost you anything extra, but helps me invest in the content I offer you free of charge. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your patronage, it makes all the difference!