The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

In the final chapters of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Karunatilaka explores the possibility of redemption.

Jaki’s incarceration presents Maali with a unique challenge, one of the few that he can actually act upon in the In Between. He can be selfish and find his Light, leaving Jaki to her certain death, or he can be selfless and sacrifice his soul for her potential freedom. This isn’t a dilemma for Maali; he believes that Jaki’s life is more valuable than his own. Jaki has long been a loyal friend, one who has risked her safety to champion Maali’s life. Now, it is Maali’s turn to save her. Jaki would not be in the Palace if it weren’t for Maali, and Maali’s moral code is too authentic to ignore what’s going on in the living world. Ultimately, Maali is a champion of human life. His job as a photographer may have revolved around people in their least dignified moments, but he was motivated not by fame or money but by a genuine concern about the atrocities in his country. Even in death, though Maali can more clearly see the insidious way humans treat one another, he believes in The Value of Human Life.

Maali is finally satisfied with his spirit self when DD and Jaki drive away from the Palace. He realizes that though he believed his unfinished business was the publication of his photographs, what he wants most from the living world is for DD and Jaki to survive. Despite the temptation of nihilism and the revelation that the soul carries on after death, Maali believes life is worth fighting for. Twice, Maali says that “…that is the kindest thing you can say about life. It’s not nothing” (365). Maali doesn’t identify why exactly life is something larger than nothing, which keeps the quality of human mystery alive. Through Maali, Karunatilaka explores how life is difficult and defined by conflict, but it is still important, meaningful, and even beautiful. Maali extends his belief in the value of human life to everyone, not just DD and Jaki. Maali tries to stop the bombing at the Department of Justice because he knows that violence begets more violence, even if the target is some of the most violent perpetrators. Sena’s bloodthirsty revenge plan won’t change the fact that Sena is still dead and will always be dead. Maali decides that even the lives of people who have done horrifically bad things like Wijeratne and Raja are worth saving. Killing the perceived antagonists will not solve any problems.

This attitude is in juxtaposition with Drivermalli’s, the unnamed boy who gets involved in a nefarious body disposal business of which he wants no part. This leads to his abduction by the ghosts and Kugarajah, which then leads to his role as a suicide bomber. Drivermalli decides to detonate the bomb, killing himself and others, because he has given up on his life. He believes that his death can mean something, though Maali knows this is just a comforting fallacy. Drivermalli is driven by guilt and trauma, so he is led into violence, but Maali wants Drivermalli to live and experience life in all its nuances.

Maali thinks of the other innocent civilians working in the Department of Justice, while Sena sees them all as peons in a damaging and evil institution, even though Sena himself is a cog in a hierarchal machine as well. Where Sena sees culpable followers, Maali sees innocent bystanders. The Mahakali attempts to punish Maali for his humanity and his compassion, but Maali is rewarded for his commitment to human life by another source of evil, the demon bodyguard. In the In Between, demons act as Major Raja and Colonel Wijeratne do in life, operating through bribes, negotiations, and favors returned. This is how hierarchies of power are established and maintained. When he is freed from the Mahakali, Maali turns his back on these hierarchies and chooses a different version of the afterlife.

Maali’s affirmative beliefs in the value of life are reestablished in his reincarnation as a Helper. He chooses the drink that places him where he belongs, a symbolic decision that emphasizes Maali’s lifelong pursuit to find himself. As a Helper, Maali is successful in steering many souls to their Light. He takes his job seriously and enjoys it; he is doing good for others and gets to stay Earthside, keeping watch over his loved ones. In his new role, Maali finally finds peace. He watches as his photography exhibit is destroyed, but he lets go of the ambitions he once had for these photographs because he realizes now that The Possibility and Hope for Change is best cultivated by helping individuals.

As a Helper, Maali is so peaceful that he forgives Stanley for murdering him. The double plot twist, revealing that DD’s implied guilt is a red herring and that Stanley killed Maali in an anti-gay attack, emphasizes the random nature of violence, as well as the persistence of interpersonal violence amid war. Though it could have been assumed that Stanley would not approve of his son’s sexuality, it feels strange that Maali would survive so many dangerous circumstances and people—Colonel Wijeratne, Major Raja, Elsa of the CNTR, Sudworth, and Jonny—just to be killed by his boyfriend’s father. In Sri Lanka, it is dangerous to be gay, and Karunatilaka’s plot twist reveals the brutality and extent of interpersonal violence fueled by bigotry and authoritarian power. Ultimately, Maali is the victim of a hate crime, not a political disappearance. He is beaten to death with his camera, the device through which he sees the world and tells the truth, symbolizing how he was targeted for being true to himself and his sexuality.

Even though Maali enjoys his job as a Helper, he now understands the cycles of reincarnation. He is not doomed to stay static; he can always find a new path. This is a metaphor for life, in which living beings can also choose different ways of being and thinking. Maali decides to be reborn again, knowing that this process of rebirth will bring him to an authentic and peaceful place. He places his trust in the universe and himself. Despite his character development from an ambitious photographer with resentments for his family and secret addictions, his decision to be reborn again harkens back to his love of gambling. Being reborn is a gamble, and trusting in the mysteries of the universe is a risk. But the risk brings interesting rewards. Maali’s final act as a gambler is to embrace what his afterlife holds in store for him and leave his ties to the living world behind.