Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka, who had previously missed out on winning the top prize, bagged the Booker Prize on Monday for his second novel “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida”.
The novel narrates the story of a dead war photographer on a mission in the afterlife.
The prize was handed over to him by Queen Consort Camilla at the English language literary award’s first in-person ceremony since 2019. He also gets a 50,000 pound ($56,810) prize.
As per a report by Reuters, the novel is set in 1990 Sri Lanka when the country was ravaged by civil war. Karunatilaka’s story follows gay war photographer and gambler Maali Almeida, who wakes up dead.
We are delighted to announce that the WINNER of the #BookerPrize2022 is ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida ’ by Shehan Karunatilaka. Discover more about the winning book: https://t.co/e5pLgvWmld@shehankaru @sortofbooks @ShahidhaBari @hrcastor @amabanckou @mjohnharrison pic.twitter.com/mtaVewL7Ij— The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) October 17, 2022
“My hope for ‘Seven Moons’ is that in the not too distant future… it is read in a Sri Lanka that has understood that these ideas of corruption, race baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work. I hope it is read in a Sri Lanka that learns from its stories and that ‘Seven Moons’ will be in the fantasy section of the bookshop and will… not be mistaken for realism or political satire,” Karunatilaka said in his speech.
“This is a metaphysical thriller, an afterlife noir that dissolves the boundaries not just of different genres, but of life and death, body and spirit, east and west,” judges chair Neil MacGregor said of Karunatilaka’s book.
Past winners of the Booker Prize, which was first awarded in 1969, include Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Yann Martel.
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