Ghosts of Conflict: An Interview with Shehan Karunatilaka on Memory, Myth, and Political History in The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Abstract

Shehan Karunatilaka’s second novel is set against the backdrop of the civil war, chronicling the challenges and ethical dilemmas of a war photographer tasked with solving a murder mystery after his death. The Kafkaesque metamorphosis, where the afterlife is a bureaucratic setup with paperwork and time frames, encompasses a magical realism tale or a whodunit-style thriller dwelling on grave themes of politics, existence, war trauma, and the past. The story follows renegade war photographer Maali Almeida, who is embroiled in red tape, haunted by memories of war, and struggling with his morality. This interview conversation aims to unravel the educative knots that coalesce the author’s intent and readers’ impact, following a postcolonial perspective through memory, myth, and temporal contingencies. This interview situates the novel and its interpretation within the context of Derridean hauntological ideas, examining the postcolonial memory and myth-making process as it reconciles with collective historical experiences.