A Case of Exploding Mangoes

by Mohammed Hanif

book data

240 ratings, 3.59 average rating, 81 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		16%
4		39%
3		32%
2		10%
1		1%

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published

May 20th 2008 by Knopf Publishing Group

binding

Hardcover, 320 pages

literary awards

James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction shortlist, (2008)

isbn

0307268071 (isbn13: 9780307268075)

description

A first novel of the first order—provocative, exuberant, wickedly clever—that reimagines the conspiracies and coincidences leading to the mysterious 1

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07/02/08

Naeem rated it:

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: Lal, Omar, Steph, Manu, Nethra

Having read a review of this book in the NYT, we promptly purchased it. Not the kind of thing we normally do but Sorayya needed to read it for professional reasons -- her own current book takes place in an adjacent time period and the same place. I will give you her impressions after I give mine.

I don't think this is a good book but it has to be read.

Its importance is that it fills in a crucial historical period in Pakistan's history and the history of the Afgha...more Having read a review of this book in the NYT, we promptly purchased it. Not the kind of thing we normally do but Sorayya needed to read it for professional reasons -- her own current book takes place in an adjacent time period and the same place. I will give you her impressions after I give mine.

I don't think this is a good book but it has to be read.

Its importance is that it fills in a crucial historical period in Pakistan's history and the history of the Afghan resistance to the Soviet Occupation. There is not much about Afghanistan here, but then agian, the story of that resistance can hardly be told without Pakistan's, the US's, and Saudi involvement.

For Pakistanis, the importance of the book lies in its blatant and much needed irreverence towards the country's most powerful institution, namely, the military and state religion. It also mocks the US backed military dictator, Zia-ul-Haq, various Generals and chief intelligence officers, the ISI and the CIA. I am sure that this book will feel like the summer rains after too many years of humid heat in Pakistan. Hanif is currently on tour in Pakistan reading from this book. But I can't help think that he is taking a huge risk.

For my reading, two things were going against this book from the start. I had high expectations, in that reviewers were comparing this book to Catch-22. Second, I have just read everything written in English by Kiran Nagarkar, who in my view is one of the three best writers to come out of India and perhaps the best of the three. (The other two are SIR Rushdie (at #3) and Amitav Ghosh.)

Needless to say, the book didn't live up to the hype. I don't think that Hanif is a particularly good writer. The language is not poetic nor is it rich with deeper social and philosophical issues. The book is designed to get you to turn the pages, which it does exceedingly well. The prose has an easy likability, the main character -- Ali Shigri -- is also easy to like and root for. And, of course, the time, place, and themes are very close to home for us. In addition, three of the five books that Hanif cites in the afterword as inspiration are ones I have read: Ghost Wars, Charlie Wilson's War, and Bear Trap.

The value of the book for me is in its humor. Official Pakistan needs this levity. As do those of us who study the events around the occupation of Afghanistan. But the humor of the book does not match or balance its vacant darkness. I could not find any greater depth or meaning in Hanif's mocking treatment of life on this planet. His characters do not seem to search for meaning in life or a meaningful life.

For Sorayya, the book's brilliance lay in a barely fictionalized reworking of actual history and with actual characters who are named as such. The dictators, generals, ambassadors, political operators (including OBL, who makes a cameo) all retain their names and are embedded within actual events. It is only the unknown characters who are fictionalized. Sorayya found it amazing and liberating that Hanif could write this book as a novel. Hanif himself refers to it as an "alleged novel" (page 325).

Read it and share your thoughts with me. I would be interested in knowing how those have perhaps have not studied this time/space line for the last seven years might respond to this quasi-novel.(less)

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11/12/08

Stephanie rated it:

Read in November, 2008

Lucky us--we have a fresh fictional voice of the Pakistani Persuasion, as it were. Mohammed Harif is one very fine writer.

In 1978 General Zia kicked Prime Minister Bhutto out of office, later executing him and "reducing" civil rights under martial law in a harrying ten-year reign until he was mysteriously killed in a plane crash in 1988. Apparently his death spawned lots of conspiracy theories, and in a sense that's Harif's fictional purpose.

His protagonist is t...more

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01/05/09

Kathleen added it

bookshelves: 2008-audio-books, 2008-general-fiction

Read in November, 2008

A Case of Exploding Mangoes, by Mohammed Hanif, narrated by Paul Bhattacharjee, produced by Clipper Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

This is a debut novel. I found it rather confusing, so I will reprint the publisher’s note. The atmosphere of intrigue surrounding the downing of a plane with Pakistani generals and some Americans on board in 1988 is the basis for this nove. IN truth, the mystery of why the plane went down hasn’t been solved.
Publisher’s note:
There...more

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02/05/09

Bookmarks Magazine added it

Compared to the works of Joseph Heller and Salman Rushdie, Mohammed Hanif's debut novel is a darkly comic send-up of power and corruption. Hanif's prose is rich with detail and insight, and he skillfully juxtaposes humor with chilling images of torture and, surprisingly enough, touching scenes between Shigri and Obaid. Critics attributed Hanif's missteps��a lack of depth and persuasiveness��to his inexperience. This is a debut novel, and an ambitious one at that. Even the San Francisco Chronic

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02/12/09

Fathima Cader rated it:

(review of isbn 0224082043)

Read in February, 2009

funny, often darkly so. reminiscent, because of its subject matter of Rushdie's Shame, but not quite as (oh dreaded word) colorful. it doesn't hit you over the head with exuberance and craziness, in the way Shame does, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
i still feel somehow distanced from the novel, as though it hadn't quite touched me. maybe i'm asking for the wrong things, though, as Shigri is a very restrained character. maybe i'd been expecting more of an awareness built into the nar...more

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01/09/09

Rachael rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Overall, this was a fun and informative read, especially if you enjoy comedic conspiracy theories. I really have extremely limited knowledge about Pakistan and was intrigued by the militant incompetence of the ruling regime in this fictitional story, since it is so similar to my cynical view of how things probably really do happen in life. However, I once again find myself annoyed by the total far-fetchedness of the story. Incompetent people in power who make dumb decisions? Yes, give me mor...more

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10/09/08

Karlan rated it:

bookshelves: adult

Read in October, 2008

This novel is based on story of the 1988 crash which killed General Zia, Pakistan's ruler. A young pilot in training wants to avenge his father's death and conducts his own odd investigation until he finds General Zia guilty. The novel uses a brisk amusing style to tell an awful story.

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06/01/09

Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 0385665032)

bookshelves: 2009, fiction, satire

Read in June, 2009

On the 17th of August, 1988, Pakistani president General Zia ul-Haq was killed when his plane crashed, along with the American ambassador Arnold Raphel. Because of his position as a deeply Islamic leader and his direct involvement in helping Afghan guerillas drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan (liberally funded by the US), there are plenty of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. In A Case of Exploding Mangoes, Hanif has presented a highly sophisticated, detailed and intensely ironic satir...more On the 17th of August, 1988, Pakistani president General Zia ul-Haq was killed when his plane crashed, along with the American ambassador Arnold Raphel. Because of his position as a deeply Islamic leader and his direct involvement in helping Afghan guerillas drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan (liberally funded by the US), there are plenty of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. In A Case of Exploding Mangoes, Hanif has presented a highly sophisticated, detailed and intensely ironic satire of the nearly three months leading up to his death in which it is his own countrymen who wish to get rid of him.

Sergeant Ali Shigri, son of the late Colonel Shigri, is one such. Since his father's apparent suicide, he has toyed with the idea of assassinating the president. When his roommate Obaid ("Baby O") disappears one morning, the army leaders drill him, incarcerate him, threaten torture and then leave him in an ancient dungeon without a speck of light, on the basis that he knew that Obaid was planning on deserting.

Meanwhile, the President is made paranoid by a line in the Koran about Jonah and the Whale that leads him to call a Code Red and barricade himself in the Army House, sure that someone is out to kill him.

Everything is leading towards that fateful day in August, of which we know all about from the very beginning - and know, too, that Shigri is the one who walked away with a smile on his face.

But how did it happen, remains the big question; and to a lesser degree, Why. In a skilful dance Hanif leads us on, to an outcome that's not entirely predictable.

This is a tough book to review. Certainly unlike anything I've read before, its structure and tone make it hard to render a synopsis from. The prologue draws you in immediately, with its dark irony, its hinting, its delicacy. "As Obaid would have said, there is poetry in committing a crime after you have served your sentence."

The book alternates between Shigri's first-person present-tense narration, within which he switches to past tense to retell past events, and an omniscient third-person past-tense perspective from General Zia and various other political and military characters, as well as a crow. It's a very three-dimensional story, where you get the personal and the intimate from every conceivable side.

Wound through the story of Shigri's punishment-before-the-crime is the war in Afghanistan, American foreign policy, Pakistani-Islamic policy (such as the fate of female rape victims: stoned to death), and the internal workings of the Pakistani political and military leadership. It's a delicious banquet of dirty deeds, tapeworms, insurrection and naiveté delivered with a bracingly fresh wit.

At times a little slow and hounded by the very details that make it so interesting, it's well worth sticking with it because the ending has a few surprises in store. It also sheds light on the end of the Cold War, US involvement and a corner of the world that is often overlooked and just as easily forgotten.(less)

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05/02/09

Pankhuree rated it:

bookshelves: literary-fiction

Read in May, 2009

Engrossing, funny and informative. With a unsubtle nod to Marquez, the author uses the assasination of Pakistani dictator Zia to show how truth is more outrageous than fiction and waxed-mustache-wearing dictators--whether Latin American or Pakistani--are dangerously ridiculous. No detail is superflous. Every incident and character was tied back to the ultimate denouement in a witty, engaging manner. As I was reading it, I began looking up the historical events it documents: Joanne Herring, the T...more

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05/08/09

Beatles24 rated it:

(review of isbn 0224082426)

Read in January, 2009

I picked this book because I believed the back flap when it said it was set around the life of Pakistan's dictator zealot Zia Ul-Haq. It was, and then some more. It was also about the dreaded ISI and a fantastic storyline about Zia's assassination. It was a bit of a let down given that it started off with a promise to tell a story around the all enveloping religious fundamentalist that marked the downfall of the Pakistani state but wound down, rather meekly, into a tale of corruption and palac...more

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08/18/08

Nancy rated it:

bookshelves: booker-prize-longlist, fiction---conspiracy, fiction---middle-east

Read in September, 2008

Before I read this book, I'd never even heard of Zia ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan who was killed in the crash of a C-130 airplane, along with the American ambassador Arnold Raphel and others. Hanif's wonderful book presents some theories (albeit some needed to be taken tongue-in-cheek) as to what may have actually caused the death of the president. They range from tapeworms to a crow; deadly gas, snake venom given to the main character by a laundry worker named Starchy, a blind woman in pri...more Before I read this book, I'd never even heard of Zia ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan who was killed in the crash of a C-130 airplane, along with the American ambassador Arnold Raphel and others. Hanif's wonderful book presents some theories (albeit some needed to be taken tongue-in-cheek) as to what may have actually caused the death of the president. They range from tapeworms to a crow; deadly gas, snake venom given to the main character by a laundry worker named Starchy, a blind woman in prison for being sexually assaulted or even a case of mangoes put on the plane for all to enjoy. Here's the thing: after I finished this novel, I looked up Zia ul-Haq on various sources on the internet and found the following in an article in the Times online (http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wor...):

"Phosphorus-covered mango seeds amid the wreckage sparked the theory that the CIA had spiked the fruit with VX gas to eliminate Zia because of his unstable commitment to a more democratic government and his loyalty to Afghan extremists."

And now, it seems, according to this article of August, 2008, that lots of interest has been sparked in exactly what did cause the president's death.

Hanif, a former air force officer for Pakistan, has got a winner of a book here. Some of it is actually funny, and you may find yourself laughing out loud in some parts. At the very beginning of the book we find out that the president dies in an airplane crash; the rest of the book looks back at part of his tenure in office and the people surrounding him, as well as people who see him as an enemy who not only needs ousting, but needs to be dead. Set during the time of the Soviet-Afghan conflict, there's even a visit from a shady character who goes by the initials of OBL, the head of Laden Construction Company during the course of a somewhat garish barbeque party given by the Americans for a fourth of July.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a wonderful book and it will definitely keep you reading. The characters are true to life (even the shadier ones), the prose is amazing and the story itself is fantastic. The fact that it has a basis in fact adds another element to the reader's enjoyment.

Definitely recommended, and recommended highly.(less)

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06/06/09

Jonathan rated it:

Read in June, 2009

This is a skilfully plotted, wonderfully paced, very funny satire about the final days of Zia ul Haq, the Pakistani military dictator who got caught up in America's proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and who died when the aircraft he was travelling in on August 17, 1988 mysteriously exploded in mid-air. Hanif--a former Pakistani Air Force Officer--has a light, droll touch, and an Hellerian sense of the absurd (much of the novel reads like a modern day Catch-22). Highly recommended.

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3 comments

06/15/09

Shalini rated it:

A very interesting read. first i thought i had picked up a non-fiction tracing the history(that's when i had just read the blurb at the back and Hanif being a journalist i just thought it was a serious document on history)...but when i started the book i realised it was fiction-thriller in terms of the genre but with a peek into the life and times of the period. It's dark humour at its best and i enjoyed it throughly.

would recommend it to all my friends.

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04/11/09

Junkfoodmonkey rated it:

(review of isbn 0224082426)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 2008

Entertaining read with a sympathetic lead character. Narration switches between first person and third person and present and past tense, which sounds like it should be annoying, but is handled so deftly it never is. There's an underlying sense of absurdity to it all, especially when dealing with the military. Very enjoyable read and the ending manages to pull off suspense even though you know what's actually coming.

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12/08/08

Rashida rated it:

bookshelves: historical-fiction

Read in December, 2008

This was an entertaining read, and an interesting take on a period of world history that I confess to not know too much about- but it seems our current state of foreign affairs is quite tied to some of these goings on. Hanif uses his creative license well to illustrate and satirize the Cold War machinations and their effects. That said, I think that Hanif could have gone even farther in his interpretation, and there were some plot points that I would have like him to have wrapped up before end...more

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05/25/09

Michelle Bird rated it:

(review of isbn 0307388182)

Read in May, 2009

Bold, gritty, and shocking. An interesting look at the Pakistani military, as well as the historical tendency of Pakistani leaders to be assassinated. The relationship between two gay Muslim soldiers will certainly raise some eyebrows on the subcontinent. Overall a page turner, but the torture scenes were a bit too graphic for my taste.

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07/04/08

Michael Kneeland rated it:

Read in May, 2008

I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more had I not just finished re-reading Catch-22. While the plot is entirely original superficially, there are several other aspects that are too similar to Heller's novel for me to appreciate on their own merit, like the underlying symbolic and plot patterns, not to mention the fact that the main character is in an airforce and that all of the officers above him are absurdly maniacal and of questionable moral fiber (hilarious in Catch-22, souringly ...more

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12/26/08

Kate rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, history

Read in December, 2008

This was a really great read - quick and interesting. I got it for Christmas and had it finished by the day after. With the Indian/Pakistani conflict in the news, you'll find this story valuable for some background information on Pakistan, as well a compelling explanation for the death by airplane accident of General Zia in 1988.

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04/01/09

Praveen Jagwani is currently reading it (review of isbn 0224082426)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in April, 2009

A fictional plot to assasinate president Zia of pakistan. The nuances of an islamic country ruled by military dictators creates a vibrant setting for the story. The narrative is by a young airforce officer given to weed, women and wonderment......my kinda guy I'd say....but let me finish the book first !

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02/22/09

Dan rated it:

Read in December, 2008

I had heard great things about this, but I was a little disappointed. The fictionalized General Zia is amusing, but a lot of the book gets bogged down by literary convention (i.e., learning important things from the prisoner next door). Overall, it's interesting as a companion piece to Charlie Wilson's War.

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