Ghosts and Ghouls
This is a book populated by creatures of myth. Ghosts and ghouls dominate the narrative. There are also references to other creatures that do not actually appear: “You are thinking of that most impossible of all mythical creatures: the Honest Politician.” This quote juxtaposes the possibility of an honest politician existing within a world heavily populated by creatures that do exist but cannot be seen by the living. An honest politician is a metaphorical myth even less corporeal than ghosts and ghouls.
The King
The protagonist is reminded of having lunch with Amma. He thinks to himself, “The last time you did that, Elvis was still in the building.” At the height of his fame, whenever an Elvis Presley concert ended, an announcement would eventually be made over the P.A. system announcing his departure from the venue with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.” The reworking of this famous phrase is a metaphorical way of saying that the protagonist had not eaten lunch since Elvis was still alive, implicitly hinting that it has been a long time since the last lunch with Amma.
The Nihilism Buffet
The idea of despair permeates through the narrative: “Despair always begins as a snack that you nibble on when bored and then becomes a meal that you have thrice a day.” This is not the only metaphorical reference to the despondent sense of hopelessness in the book. Elsewhere it is termed a “sexually transmitted disease” while the purgatorial world the protagonist inhabits is described as being overrun with creatures who “feed on despair.” This portrait of despair as something that can be fed upon and transmitted to others is part of the subtext of the portrait of Sri Lanka as a morally murky place that is not conducive to upward social mobility.
Political Critique
The one common link uniting most critics of socialism across the world is that this critique is uninformed. This reality is efficiently conveyed through simile: “`Most of Colombo’s socialists don’t love the poor. They just hate the rich,’ your Dada would say, as if the phrase had sprung from his magnificent brain.” The simile is pointing out that such assertions of ideological opposition to socialism are rarely if ever the result of actual critical engagement. They are simply talking points uncritically learned that eventually come to be mistaken for original thought.
The Bureaucracy of Eternity
Life after death is not presented as a fluffy cloud city in the sky. There are no golden escalators carrying happy people upward to heaven. Likewise, the escalator heading down is not soon overcome by a toxic smog indicating the sulfurous fumes of hell. It is much worse for all concerned: “There are multiple counters and irate customers clamor over grills to shout abuse at the few behind the bars. The afterlife is a tax office and everyone wants their rebate.” The bureaucratic nature of purgatory actually seems credibly appropriate given that it is has historically been portrayed as a waystation where important decisions about your eternal future are determined by others.
