Maali is a 1980s war photographer in Sri Lanka with a box of
incriminating hidden photos that he wants to come to light. Unfortunately, Maali is dead. He is now a spirit residing in the In Between
for seven days and floats around to observe anyone who speaks his name. He therefore serves as an omniscient
narrator, commenting on what happens in the aftermath of his death. He would also like to discover who murdered
him, and there are possibilities aplenty.
This book was a challenge to read, not only because I’m not familiar at
all with Sri Lanka’s history, but also because the characters have long and unfamiliar
names, making them difficult for me to distinguish. The author seems to assume that the reader is
familiar with the historical events in Sri Lanka’s history, the vocabulary, and
the names and acronyms of the various warring factions. I tried to keep up but failed miserably, and
although I didn’t understand half of what was happening in the country, the
parts of the book that I did understand were powerful. The author reveals insights into humanity’s
struggles that are worth mentioning. For
instance, he notes that no major religion forbids rape and that all
civilizations are built on genocide.
Think about it. On page 345
Maali’s father says this:
‘”You know why the battle of good vs evil is so one-sided,
Malin? Because evil is better organized,
better equipped and better paid. It is
not monsters or yakas or demons we should fear.
Organised collectives of evil doers who think they are performing the
work of the righteous. That is what
should make us shudder.’”
That sounds too frighteningly familiar.
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