I am not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book but I did not think I would love it as much as I did.

When I first saw that it was written in second person I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it but once you get through the first 50 pages it works as a way to immerse you. Once I reached the ending I fully understood the purpose of the second person pov (both to bring the audience in but also to drive the message of agency and the role of ghosts in), and now I cannot imagine the book working without it. In a book actively exploring the idea of distance/closeness to war the second person pov forces the reader to critically engage with our own position.

For a book  set in the context of the deadly Sri Lankan civil war, I found the war violence and sardonic humor to be perfectly complimentary. The straightforward description of the horrors really allowed for the reader to interpret it the way one would an actual photo. In between the horror, the mockery of colonialism-politics-nonsensical violence gives us a respite from everything we see in the page. At times the humor even reminded me of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett (if their books were set in the most horrific real life context imaginable).

I would say that the balance between the scenes that took place in the afterlife and the civil war were not as seamlessly as I would have liked. The switch from one scene to another had a disruptive effect that at times took me out of the story. The epilogue itself I found it to be both refreshing but also a bit muddled (although not enough to change my enjoyment of the book).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Indeed a very unique reading experience.