logo

65 pages 2 hours read

Shehan Karunatilaka

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Shehan KarunatilakaFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“The pupils are in shades of bruises and scabs. Scrambled browns, blues and greens—all of which disregard you. You have lived in refugee camps, visited street markets at noon, and fallen asleep at packed casinos. The heave of humanity is never picturesque. This heave throngs towards you and heaves you away from the counter.”


(Part 1, Chapter 2, Page 6)

In this quote, imagery is used to portray the many layers of human nature’s messiness. Humanity is full of different kinds of ugliness. In this novel, death doesn’t free someone from their capacity for physical and emotional ugliness. Rather, death replicates humans’ lived lives. While living, people have born challenges like living in refugee camps, but they also have picturesque experiences like street markets at noon. Despite this wide berth of human experience, death brings everyone together in a democratic space that highlights the messiness of human existence. Here, the various dead people and the phrase “heaves you away” represent the chaotic nature of being part of the human population.

Quotation Mark Icon

“For atheists there are only moral choices. Accept that we are alone and strive to create heaven on earth. Or accept that no one’s watching and do whatever the hell you like. The latter is by far easier.”


(Part 1, Chapter 6, Page 21)

The afterlife in this novel voids the religious beliefs of people while they were living. For atheists, Karunatilaka’s depiction of the afterlife is confirmation that organized religions’ beliefs were false, but it also reveals that there is a soul that continues through spirituality. Notably, atheists end up sharing the space with believers. This afterlife is a democratic space in which everyone endures the journey of finding the Light or committing their spirits to the In Between. The atheist’s individual moral code, separate from religion, could still be relevant in this version of the afterlife.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 65 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,450+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools