Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida  By  cover art

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

By: Shehan Karunatilaka
Narrated by: Shivantha Wijesinha
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.09

Buy for $19.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Booker Prize, 2022

Colombo, 1990. 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, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts who cluster around him can attest.

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.

©2022 Shehan Karunatilaka (P)2022 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Karunatilaka has a real lightness of touch." (The Observer)

"Celebrate the arrival of the Great Sri Lankan Novel." (The Times)

What listeners say about The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Moving but not easy to listen to

An exceptional combination of harrowing history, otherworldly images dark humor and a murder mystery. Something like a cross between The Sympathizer and Lincoln in the Bardo. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Learning a lot about Sri Lanka

It was a very entertaining book, with interesting features and characters. It was fun to get to know much more about Sri Lanka. The readers voice was very good and due to his Sri Lanka accent he gave additional life to the story. it is a philosophical book but also a political book. I truly enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Book/listen of the year for me

Brilliant story-telling, complex plots and ideas, and funny with it - gallows humour.
Excellent narration - the perfect tone, intonation.
I LOVED IT!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What happends after you die

A wonderful, rich tale from Sri Lanka. I absolutt love it. Moving and shocking, so imaginative. And the actor Reading is the best I have ever heard. I love his voices! Thank you so much for this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Essential, particularly for those who want to know about Sri Lanka’s recent history. A riveting account of an avoidable disaster which happened in a country whose intricate history has lasted more than 3000 years.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A serendipity

It was a serendipity to discover this book on the island, Serendib alias Sri Lanka. An intelligent and interesting story telling and a wonderful narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The story is wonderful.

The story is great, the concept is really interesting and I truly appreciated some of the characters and the plot. However, the style it's told in, is definitely not my thing. It's a bit like a Quentin Tarantino movie - so grotesque and in your face. You either love it or hate it, I don't see how you'd be ambivalent to it... I don't like Tarantino movies either. But I can appreciate why they are liked by others. So overall, I'm glad I read it, but I can't recommend it without major reservations. Also, I find it a bit strange the narrator's choice to overemphasize sertain characters' accents. They were made to sound almost ridiculously comical.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!