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Staff from your Monroe County Public Library recommend some of their favorites from the collection.
What: “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Shehan Karunatilaka
Why: Magical realism set in the 1980s amid Sri Lanka’s civil war. Maali Almeida, a gay, atheistic freelance photojournalist, is murdered and finds himself trapped in an afterlife that is by turns bureaucratic and chaotic – not unlike life in his war-torn nation. He has seven moons to find out who killed him and why – and also, to guide his living friends to a cache of photos showing atrocities committed on both sides of the conflict. In life, he was caught between government army forces, NGOs, and black-market arms dealers. In death, he is torn between a youthful ghost-turned-Communist ringleader who attempts to recruit Maali for his People’s Army of the dead and a gentle spectral doctor trying to lead Maali into the Light. His only real goal, however, is to make sure his secret photos show the world what has happened to his beautiful and troubled country.
Gritty, whimsical, funny, and sad.
Where: This is available as a print book, e-book and e-audiobook from the Monroe County Library system.
How: You can request books online by logging in to www.keyslibraries.org and get e-books and e-audiobooks 24/7 at www.estuff.keyslibraries.org. If you don’t have a card, you can visit your local branch or register online to get one. Questions? info@keyslibraries.org Recommended by: Laura Bernazzoli, library associate, Key West library branch
