Shehan Karunatilaka

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Shehan Karunatilaka
Karunatilaka in 2020
Karunatilaka in 2020
Born1975 (age 48–49)
Galle, Sri Lanka
OccupationWriter, Creative Director
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationS. Thomas' Preparatory School;
Whanganui Collegiate School;
Massey University
Period2000 – present
GenreNovels, children's books, short stories
SubjectSri Lankan society
Notable worksChinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew (2010)
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022)
Notable awardsGratiaen Prize (2008);
Commonwealth Book Prize (2012);
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature (2012);
Booker Prize (2022)
Website
www.shehanwriter.com

Shehan Karunatilaka (born 1975) is a Sri Lankan writer. He grew up in Colombo, studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. His 2010 debut novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew won the Commonwealth Book Prize, the DSC Prize, the Gratiaen Prize and was adjudged the second greatest cricket book of all time by Wisden. His third novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (Sort of Books, 2022) was announced as the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize on 17 October 2022.[1][2][3]

Biography[edit]

Shehan Karunatilaka was born in 1975 in Galle, southern Sri Lanka,[4] and grew up in Colombo.[5] He was educated at S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Kollupitiya, Sri Lanka, and then in New Zealand at Whanganui Collegiate School, and Massey University.[4][6] He graduated in English literature, against his family's wish that he study business administration.[7][8]

Before publishing his debut novel in 2010, he worked in advertising at McCann, Iris and BBDO, and has also written features for The Guardian, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, GQ, National Geographic, Conde Nast, Wisden, The Cricketer and the Economic Times. He has played bass with Sri Lankan rock bands Independent Square and Powercut Circus[9] and the Brass Monkey Band.

Novels[edit]

Karunatilaka's first manuscript, The Painter, was shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize in 2000,[10] but was never published.

Chinaman (2010)[edit]

His debut novel, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew (self-published in 2010),[11] uses cricket as a device to write about Sri Lankan history.[12] It tells the story of an alcoholic journalist's quest to track down a missing Sri Lankan cricketer of the 1980s.

Plot[edit]

Described as "part-tragedy, part-comedy, part-mystery and part-drunken-memoir", Chinaman is set in Sri Lanka in 1999, fresh after a world cup victory and in the throes of a civil war that will continue for another decade. Most of the action takes place "on Colombo's streets, at cricket matches, in strange houses and in dodgy bars."

The story's narrator is retired sports journalist WG Karunasena, who has done little with his 64 years, other than drink arrack and watch Sri Lankan cricket. When informed by doctors of his liver problems, WG decides to track down the greatest thing he has ever seen, Pradeep Mathew, left-arm spinner for Sri Lanka during the late 1980s.

Awards[edit]

The book was critically hailed, winning many awards. On 21 May 2012, Chinaman was announced as the regional winner for Asia of the Commonwealth Book Prize[13] and went on to win the overall Commonwealth Book Prize announced on 8 June, when chair of judges Margaret Busby said: "This fabulously enjoyable read will keep you entertained and rooting for the protagonist until the very end, while delivering startling truths about cricket and about Sri Lanka."[14] Chinaman also won the 2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, and the 2008 Gratiaen Prize.[9] Published to great acclaim in India and the UK, the book was one of the Waterstones 11 selected by British bookseller Waterstones as one of the top debuts of 2011[15] and was also shortlisted for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.[16]

In 2015, a Sinhala-language translation by Dileepa Abeysekara was published as Chinaman: Pradeep Mathewge Cricket Pravadaya.[17]

In April 2019, the novel was voted among the best cricket books ever by Wisden.[18]

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022)[edit]

Main article: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Karunatilaka wrote his second novel in various versions with different titles. When the first draft was shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize in 2015, it was titled Devil Dance.[19] It was originally published in the Indian subcontinent as Chats with the Dead in 2020 by Penguin India.[20][21] Karunatilaka struggled to find an international publisher for the novel because most deemed Sri Lankan politics "esoteric and confusing" and many felt "the mythology and worldbuilding was impenetrable, and difficult for Western readers." The independent British publishing house Sort of Books agreed to publish the novel after editing to "make it familiar to Western readers." Karunatilaka revised the work for two years due to its publication being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Karunatilaka said, "I'd say it's the same book, but it benefits from two years of tightening and is much more accessible. It is a bit confusing to have the same book with two different titles, but I think the eventual play is that The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida will become the definitive title and text."[19]

Published in August 2022 by Sort of Books, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida won the 2022 Booker Prize, announced at a ceremony at The Roundhouse in London on 17 October 2022.[22][23][24][25][26] The judges said that the novel "fizzes with energy, imagery and ideas against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars. Slyly, angrily comic."[27] Charlie Connelly's review in The New European characterised the novel as "part ghost story, part whodunnit, part political satire ... a wonderful book about Sri Lanka, friendship, grief and the afterlife".[28]

Plot[edit]

Set against the backdrop of the civil war, the story chronicles the challenges and ethical dilemmas of a war photographer tasked to solve his own murder mystery. It is a story of a ghost trapped navigating the afterlife and coming to terms with his life, his work, his relationships and his death.

Structured as a whodunit, the story follows renegade war photographer Maali Almeida, who is tasked with solving his own murder. Embroiled in red tape, memories of war, his own ethical dilemmas, and his awkward relationship with his mother, his official girlfriend and his secret boyfriend Maali is constantly interrupted by the overly chatty dead folks breezing through the afterlife, as he struggles to unravel his own death.

The author set the book in 1989, as this was when "The Tigers, The Army, The Indian peacekeepers, The JVP terrorists and State death squads were all killing each other at a prolific rate." A time of curfews, bombs, assassinations, abductions and mass graves seemed to the author to be "a perfect setting for a ghost story, a detective tale or a spy thriller. Or all three."

Children's books[edit]

Initially conceived as a story for his son, Please Don't Put That In Your Mouth (2019) marked the first formal collaboration between Shehan and his artist/illustrator brother, Lalith Karunatilaka, though Lalith had sketched the ball diagrams from Chinaman and the cover of Chats With The Dead.

Speaking to LiveMint, the author commented: "I have experienced many traumatic moments involving toddlers eating dangerous things. My daughter once mistook a wet paint brush for an ice cream and started licking it. My son is known to pick up dead insects and munch on them. I intended to write a cautionary tale, but silliness overtook it."[29]

Influences[edit]

In 2013, speaking to The Nation, Karunatilaka described his influences as: "Kurt Vonnegut, William Goldman, Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje, Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Tom Robbins and a few hundred others."[30] He has additionally acknowledged Douglas Adams, George Saunders and Cormac McCarthy.[31]

Karunatilaka has also written and spoken about his lifelong obsession with rock band The Police.[32]

Future projects[edit]

Karunatilaka is currently at work on two more children's books, a short-story collection and hopes to begin a novel that "hopefully won't take 10 years."[33]

It has been speculated that he is set to release his third novel, Khans, by mid 2023 -- which has gone by. [34]

Bibliography[edit]

Awards and honours[edit]

Shortlists[edit]

  • 2000: Gratiaen Prize Shortlist, The Painter (unpublished novel)[10]
  • 2008: Shakthi Bhatt Award, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew
  • 2015: Gratiaen Prize Shortlist, Devil Dance (unpublished novel)[10]
  • 2017: Gratiaen Prize Shortlist, Short Eats (unpublished short stories)[10]
  • 2019: Wisden, Best Cricket Book Ever, 2nd, Chinaman[35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins Booker Prize". Onmanorama. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  3. ^ Alter, Alexandra (17 October 2022). "Shehan Karunatilaka Wins Booker Prize for 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida'". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b "Shehan Karunatilaka". internationales literaturfestival berlin. 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  5. ^ Allardice, Lisa (18 October 2022). "Interview | 'Writers all want to be rock stars': Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka on ghosts, war and childish dreams". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "Shehan Karunatilaka". The Modern Novel.
  7. ^ Hill, Kim (22 October 2022). "Shehan Karunatilaka: NZ can claim some of Booker Prize winner's success". Radio New Zealand.
  8. ^ Sinhalage-Fonseka, Chamanthie (22 October 2022). "How Sri Lankan-Kiwi writers are defying the odds and making their mark". Stuff Media.
  9. ^ a b "Shehan's winning googly", The Sunday Times, 12 February 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d "Gratiaen Prize Winners & Short Listed Writers 1993–2021". The Gratien Trust. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  11. ^ Kodagoda, Anuradha (29 September 2019). "Self-publishing". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. ^ Sardesai, Rajdeep (12 February 2011), "Spin on a yarn", Hindustan Times. Archived 19 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ "Commonwealth Book Prize & Commonwealth Short Story Prize | Regional Winners 2012", Commonwealth Writers, 21 May 2012. Archived 25 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ Flood, Alison (8 June 2012). "Shehan Karunatilaka wins 2012 Commonwealth book prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  15. ^ Daniel, Smriti (23 January 2011). "Waterstones bowled over by Shehan's Chinaman". Sunday Times. Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Winner at 78". The Hindu. 3 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Chinaman" at Diogenes Publishing.
  18. ^ Wisden Staff (30 April 2019). "Best cricket books ever: The debate – who made the top seven?". Wisden. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  19. ^ a b Jayasinghe, Pasan (18 October 2022). "Shehan Karunatilaka: 'The state will come after the defenceless'". Frontline. The Hindu Group. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  20. ^ Jayasinghe, Pasan (7 September 2022). "Shehan Karunatilaka: 'The state will come after the defenceless'". frontline.thehindu.com. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  21. ^ Chakrabarti, Paromita (18 October 2022). "Sri Lankan author wins Booker: Meet Shehan Karunatilaka and Maali Almeida". The Indian Express. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  22. ^ "The Booker Prize 2022 | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  23. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (26 July 2022). "Booker prize longlist of 13 writers aged 20 to 87 announced". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Shehan Karunatilaka's The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida longlisted for 2022 Booker Prize". The Sunday Times. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  25. ^ Ismail, Adilah (31 July 2022). "It's always a thrill to have a book of yours make a list: Shehan". The Sunday Times. Sri Lanka.
  26. ^ Singh, Anit (17 October 2022). "Shehan Karunatilaka wins Booker Prize 2022 from competitive shortlist | The Queen Consort, a long-term supporter of the prize, attended the event alongside Dua Lipa". Daily Telegraph.
  27. ^ Bayley, Sian (26 July 2022). "Booker Prize longlist dominated by indies as judges pick youngest and oldest ever nominees". The Bookseller. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  28. ^ Connelly, Charlie (28 July 2022). "Sri Lanka in purgatory". The New European.
  29. ^ Ghoshal, Somak (15 June 2019). "Meet Baby Baba and his maker". Livemint. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  30. ^ Hussain, Faizan (30 March 2016). "Karunatilaka: A Novelist Par Excellence". The Nation. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  31. ^ Self, John (8 October 2022). "Interview | Shehan Karunatilaka: 'There's a Sri Lankan gallows humour… we've been through a lot of catastrophes'". The Guardian.
  32. ^ "Shehan Writer - Features". www.shehanwriter.com. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  33. ^ Karunatalika, Shehan (7 February 2020). "From the Spectral Island". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  34. ^ "Khans". Goodreads. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  35. ^ Wisden Staff (30 April 2019). "Wisden Cricket Monthly's best cricket book ever – revealed". Wisden Cricket Monthly. Retrieved 26 July 2022.

External links[edit]

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