'In Lanka, there is collective amnesia about the civil war'

2022 Booker Prize-winning author Shehan Karunatilaka chats with SUKANT DEEPAK

Believe it or not, it was quite a task for Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka to find a UK publisher for his second novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, which went on to win the prestigious Booker Prize in 2022. “Frankly, those in the West are not clamouring for Sri Lankan books about wars that people have forgotten,” he smiles.

Revealing that he found out he had won the prize just as the rest of the world did, Karunatilaka says that while people do get a heads up with the long and shortlists, that was not to be in his case.

“Frankly, I went to the ceremony quite content that the book had been short listed. The judges usually drag it out while announcing the winner, but these just went for it. I walked up and made the speech, and then the next 48 hours were just about interviews. Of course, it has sunk in by now,” he says.

The prize-winning book revolves around the recently deceased war photographer Maali Almeida, who wakes up as a ghost and has seven days to identify his killer. The story is set in the 1980s, during the early years of Sri Lanka’s civil war between government forces and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).

The author, speaking to this collective amnesia about the civil war, with people not feeling the need to talk about it - no wonder very few books have been written and films made on the subject - the books have had a strong protagonist. I might write the third one in the third person. I researched for two to three years for my first (book), and there are plenty of subjects to write about,” says this former advertising professional.

Anguished over the economic crisis plaguing the island nation, the author says there was much optimism after the civil war ended.

“And then we had the 2019 bombings which broke my heart. While we knew the economic crisis was coming, nobody, including financial experts imagined that Sri Lanka would default. I am a middle-class guy — and we had gas shortages and got firewood etc. Someone like me can still bear it, but for most of the population, it means skipping a meal.” www.indianlink.com.au

Stressing that he still practices the process he employed during his advertising days, Shehan Karunatilaka says what has changed is the time it takes to write. “Research, brainstorm, and write. While in advertising, a campaign would take a few weeks, a novel takes years. Researching is my favourite part. I make a lot of notes and fill up pages. The first draft is the toughest. I do not mind editing. When you have a draft, then it is easy to pull pieces together and hope for the best,” concludes the Booker Prize winner.