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The Association of Small Bombs
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Karan Mahajan (Goodreads Author)
When brothers Tushar and Nakul Khurana, two Delhi schoolboys, pick up their family’s television set at a repair shop with their friend Mansoor Ahmed one day in 1996, disaster strikes without warning. A bomb—one of the many “small” bombs that go off seemingly unheralded across the world—detonates in the Delhi marketplace, instantly claiming the lives of the Khurana boys, to
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The Association of Small Bombs
by Karan Mahajan (Goodreads Author)
by Karan Mahajan (Goodreads Author)
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date: Mar 22, 2016
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Giveaway dates: Apr 05 - Apr 12, 2016
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Not perfect but brilliant. The scenes of grief are devastating and the portrait of the making of a terrorist fascinating. Interestingly, the intense lyrical beauty of the first half is mostly drained when depicting the hardening of the soul of a human being, a turn away from the beauty.
In the novel, the bomb becomes a metaphor for many things- as well as a thing in its own right, a devastation. The father of the victim feels himself becoming a bomb, feels himself torn apart in his grief. And the ...more
In the novel, the bomb becomes a metaphor for many things- as well as a thing in its own right, a devastation. The father of the victim feels himself becoming a bomb, feels himself torn apart in his grief. And the ...more
In this brief and surreal novel - the author's second - Karan Mahajan probes the illogic driving catastrophist terrorism, and the damage done to three families over the course 15 years. The book confounds expectations by not attempting to delve into those choosing violence through a path of devoutness. In fact, Islam is only present in the book in order to demonstrate how residents of Delhi and India at large make assumptions about Muslim citizens, the sort of assumptions that drive the BJP, cur
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The first five pages of The Association of Small Bombs is a narrative that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the novel. A terrorist bombing in a crowded Dehli market kills two Hindu brothers and injures their Muslim friend. Karan Mahajan describes the tumult of the market and the results of the bombing; we meet the parents of the dead children and see their immediate psychological reaction to their loss.
Excerpt: “Back in the market, people collapsed, then got up, their hands pressed to th ...more
Excerpt: “Back in the market, people collapsed, then got up, their hands pressed to th ...more
A really engrossing novel about the ripple effects that a small bomb in a Delhi market has on a number of families - from the parents of the two young boys who are two of the small number of victims on the day, to their best friend who somehow survives but is left with physical and psychological scars, to the friends he goes on to make and their increasing radicalisation.
The writing is really evocative, taking you to the dusty streets of India and immersing you in the everyday chaos and then the ...more
The writing is really evocative, taking you to the dusty streets of India and immersing you in the everyday chaos and then the ...more
Mar 20, 2016
Sarah at Sarah's Book Shelves
rated it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
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[3.5 Stars]
Visit my blog, www.sarahsbookshelves.com, for the full review:
Headline:
The Association of Small Bombs‘s fantastic start, meandering middle, and somewhat perplexing ending left me with mixed feelings.
What I Liked:
- My Kindle’s highlighting function got a serious workout…particularly in the first half of the book when Mahajan’s social commentary shined.
"He’d become a man whose kids had died. This was his chief distinction. It occurred to him now that people are defined much more by the ...more
Visit my blog, www.sarahsbookshelves.com, for the full review:
Headline:
The Association of Small Bombs‘s fantastic start, meandering middle, and somewhat perplexing ending left me with mixed feelings.
What I Liked:
- My Kindle’s highlighting function got a serious workout…particularly in the first half of the book when Mahajan’s social commentary shined.
"He’d become a man whose kids had died. This was his chief distinction. It occurred to him now that people are defined much more by the ...more
Describing the precursors and aftermath of several "small" bombings in Delhi, India, this book sets terror victims and perpetrators side by side, challenging the reader to consider the humanity of both in a way that is unprecedented and brave. Humanizing bombers is no small task, but Mahajan succeeds by exposing the interior lives of characters that should be unlikable, but are instead often sympathetic. The labyrinthine consequences of terror acts that bind people together for the rest of their
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I was excited when I first read the premise as I imagined it could lend some perspective to the troubling recent events in Belgium and France. Yet I found that this was a different type of book and one that didn't give me any new viewpoints at all. A car bomb goes off in a Delhi marketplace killing 13 people and a Kashmir terrorist group is to blame. This is the story of how the victims, perpetrators and their families are forever affected by this one random act of violence. But just for one mom
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In the time it took me to listen to this audiobook there were bombs in Brussels and Lahore that together killed almost 100 people. The Association of Small Bombs wrestles with the motivation, devastation, and trauma behind and in front of bombings, and it does so with stunning language and a nuanced sensitivity. The only thing that prevented me from fully connecting to the book was that there were many characters and it didn't focus on the perspective of just one. While this prevented some emoti
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Karan Mahajan's The Association of Small Bombs is thoughtful, well constructed novel built from great ideas. But it narrowly misses a 4 or 5 star rating, largely because it fails to rise above its great ideas, into a well plotted, complete story.
Mahajan, unlike many writers who take on terrorism as a topic, doesn't shy away from difficult questions. How does radicalization happen? Why is radical Islam denied political agency? What role does sexual violence play in terrorism? How does terror, wh ...more
Mahajan, unlike many writers who take on terrorism as a topic, doesn't shy away from difficult questions. How does radicalization happen? Why is radical Islam denied political agency? What role does sexual violence play in terrorism? How does terror, wh ...more
I was pumped to win a free ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, but unfortunately, this book and I were not meant to be. As it's my policy not to write negative reviews, I'll simply say that despite it being Valentine's Day, the magic just wasn't there.
This review originally ran on Everyday eBook
More Than Fiction: The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
It is sometimes easy to remove ourselves from the everyday terror across the globe. Bombings in markets and cafes are hard to relate to, and with all of the violence in the news, it is easy to disassociate ourselves, to become immune to the tragedy. In Karan Mahajan's new novel, The Association of Small Bombs, we are brought into the lives of victims of and orchestraters behind such deva ...more
More Than Fiction: The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
It is sometimes easy to remove ourselves from the everyday terror across the globe. Bombings in markets and cafes are hard to relate to, and with all of the violence in the news, it is easy to disassociate ourselves, to become immune to the tragedy. In Karan Mahajan's new novel, The Association of Small Bombs, we are brought into the lives of victims of and orchestraters behind such deva ...more
Heavy, but worth reading. Beautiful prose, and the ending, although not happy, tied everything together for me. Especially pertinent with the recent bombings around the world and the controversy surrounding their media coverage.
Loses its way in the middle and the author uses acronyms that mean nothing to a Western audience, but all in all, a thoughtful and well written novel about the price of hatred.
Reviewed by The Slate
Really liked the writing. Good examination of different perspectives, and a nice mix of characters. Felt like it got kind of flat near the end though.
Dull. This is another one of those books that's getting a ton of hype but is absolutely not worth the accolades. It was a disappointment because it sounded fascinating: a look at what happens after a terrorist attack and how it affects the ones left behind: the friend who survived, the parents of two of the victims, etc.
It's frustrating because the author chooses to examine these lives by flipping between different viewpoints. I can't stand this device, although there are some authors who can do ...more
It's frustrating because the author chooses to examine these lives by flipping between different viewpoints. I can't stand this device, although there are some authors who can do ...more
rreview forthcoming on americanmicroreviews.com
It took me the first 30 pages to really get into this book, but once it grabbed me, I couldn't put it down. Beautifully written with a smart and significant structure, I especially enjoyed the portions where Mansoor was the primary character to follow.
The prose is occasionally excellent and the concept is daring, but the execution falls a bit flat. It seems like the whole point of a book like this is to zoom in on the human experience across many different kinds of characters. If that's the case, the success of the book is balanced on whether or not the characters feel real and whether or not exploring their stories gives us new insight. That's where I think this book could have been better. Something in the writing style - cynicism, perhaps
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I rate this book 3.80 being better than average but it had some structural issues. Set in Delhi in May 1996 up to 2003, this is the story of a terrorist bombing in the Lajpat Naga marketplace, the death of two brothers Tushar (13) and Nakul (11), their devastated parents, Vikas (40) and Deepa Khurana (40), their Muslim friends Sharif and and Afsheen Ahmed and their son Mansoor (12) who incurred injuries in the blast but wasn't killed, the bombmaker Shaukat "Shockie" Guru (26), Shockie's accompli
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A compelling examination of the ripple effects of small acts of terrorism. Psychologically probing and empathetic to: the pain of the Khuranas (parents of victims), the uneasy feelings of the Ahmeds (survivors), and the minds of the bombers.
Mahajan makes the humanity, the psychological unraveling or misplaced idealism or confusion, of each person in his novel more tangible than any news item ever could, and draws you into an understanding of how disorienting it can feel to realize you don’t quit ...more
Mahajan makes the humanity, the psychological unraveling or misplaced idealism or confusion, of each person in his novel more tangible than any news item ever could, and draws you into an understanding of how disorienting it can feel to realize you don’t quit ...more
Expected to be wowed, based on NYTBR, but really couldn't follow the pacing--some things are belabored (like a failed house purchase that seems not wholly relevant to the story) while other things (like a terrorist's motivation) are passed over way too hastily. Major character is introduced only 1/2 way through, and told about more than shown. The last chapters are just chaotic.
Brilliant and engaging writing, fascinating and insightful psychology into the characters. However I found the story to be nihilistic and ultimately depressing. I understand that not all stories have happy endings but this one offered no hope of redemption for any of the characters.
I hesitate to give it two stars as I only made it 1/2 way through the book. I really thought I would enjoy it but I just could not get absorbed in the characters or the events.
Ripples in a pond, like shock-waves from a bomb, can spread far and back and continue to impact and influence lives for decades.
Not a waste of time, but nothing majorly awesome either.
My review at Los Angeles Review of Books. http://bit.ly/1Mo9ksH
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Karan Mahajan was born in 1984 and grew up in New Delhi, India. His first novel, Family Planning, was a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize and was published in nine countries. His second novel, The Association of Small Bombs, is forthcoming from Viking in March 2016.
Karan's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, The New Yorker online, The ...more
More about Karan Mahajan...
Karan's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, The New Yorker online, The ...more
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“When things are good, you can see no other way of living; when things are in ruins, there appear a million solutions for how this fate could have been avoided.”
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