<![CDATA[A Case of Exploding Mangoes]]>

false <![CDATA[A Case of Exploding Mangoes]]>

2153793

A first novel of the first order—provocative, exuberant, wickedly clever—that reimagines the conspiracies and coincidences leading to the mysterious 1988 plane crash that killed Pakistan’s dictator General Zia ul-Haq. At the center is Ali Shigri: Pakistan Air Force pilot and Silent Drill Commander of Fury Squadron. His father, one of Zia’s colonels, committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. Ali is determined to understand what or who pushed his father to such desperation—and to avenge his death. What he quickly discovers is a snarl of events: Americans in Pakistan, Soviets in Afghanistan, dollars in every hand. But Ali remains patient, determined, a touch world-weary (“You want freedom and they give you chicken korma”), and unsurprised at finding Zia at every turn. He mounts an elaborate plot for revenge with an ever-changing crew (willing and not) that includes his silk-underwear-and-cologne-wearing roommate; a hash-smoking American lieutenant with questionable motives; the chief of Pakistan’s secret police, who mistakenly believes he’s in cahoots with the CIA; a blind woman imprisoned for fornication; Uncle Starchy, the squadron’s laundryman; and, not least of all, a mango-besotted crow. General Zia—devout Muslim and leering admirer of non-Muslim cleavage—begins every day by asking his chief of security: “Who’s trying to kill me?” and the answer lies in a conspiracy trying its damnedest to happen . . . Intrigue and subterfuge combine with misstep and luck in this darkly comic book about love, betrayal, tyranny, family—and a world that unexpectedly resembles our own.

2159297

book

2008

A Case of Exploding Mangoes

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2 4 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 12:25:37 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 13:16:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 16:09:30 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 01:10:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 11:07:06 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 09:56:26 -0800 2008
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 rei...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 17:17:50 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 18:38:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 05 20:36:45 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 20:37:49 -0800 2009
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 p...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:58:31 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:58:31 -0800 2009 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 betwe...

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