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 serene Beira
Lake and he has no idea who killed him. In a country 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. But even in the afterlife time is running
out for Maali. He has seven moons to contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to
the photos that will rock Sri Lanka. Ten years after his prize-winning novel Chinaman
established him as one of Sri Lanka's foremost authors Shehan Karunatilaka is back with a
thrilling satire (Economist) and rip-roaring state-of-the-nation epic that offers equal parts
mordant wit and disturbing profound truths.
