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A Case of Exploding Mangoes

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 3,022 ratings · 436 reviews

A Washington Post, Rocky Mountain News, Boston Globe Best Book of the Year

Intrigue and subterfuge combine with bad luck and good in this darkly comic debut about love, betrayal, tyranny, family, and a conspiracy trying its damnedest to happen.

Ali Shigri, Pakistan Air Force pilot and Silent Drill Commander of the Fury Squadron, is on a mission to avenge his father's suspici...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published May 5th 2009 by Vintage (first published 2008)

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Jul 27, 2010 DubaiReader rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ew-am-bk-grp-1, ew-am-bk-grp-2, 2010

Political satire.

I am an avid reader of both 'Global' and Historical fiction so this book should have been right up my street. Instead it took me weeks to read and I omly completed it because I was discussing it in a book group.
I did not enjoy it at all. It was certainly not 'very, very funny', as advertised.
I was not alone in my views either; 6 out of 8 other readers at the discussion felt the same way.
Although I hate to categorise books, we felt that this was a book that would be more appealin...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Nilesh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: good-fiction

An astonishing book at so many levels and still witty, fast-paced, beautifully-written and thought-inducing.
The first surprise is that a book of the nature can be written about actual, recently deceased politicians in South Asia. I am still surprised that the author was not banished in Pakistan or no major furore was created because of the way it has portrayed an ex-President and other powerful people of the time.
The second surprise - from an Indian angle - is how simple- and petty-minded (and...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Sana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

Ah! Where do I begin to write words on a book I have come to adore with every turning of the page? It's full of those little surprises and shocks a growing child gets to see everyday; before he has the ability to distinguish them as good or bad.

Yes, there is an element of wonder when reading about the alleged activities of the bygone President and the Pakistan army itself and why there hasn't been a voice raised against it. But that it all there is to it from my side.

It was interesting to read s...more

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Jul 02, 2008 Naeem rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition 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 Afghan resistance to the Soviet Occupa...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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Oct 22, 2010 قصي بن خليفة rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english, رواية

رواية ظريفة ساخرة خيالية بنى الكاتب حبكتها على قصة مقتل الرئيس الباكستاني ضياء الحق وما حوله من أشخاص وأحداث، ولكن ليس فيها الكثير من المعلومات التاريخية. أعجبني فيها لغة الكاتب وقدرته على السرد بطريقة تشد القاريء. ولكنه لم يوفق في كثير من التفاصيل حيث لم يراعي حرمة للدين ولا ذوقاً للقارئ ولعله لم يقصد أمثالي من القراء فهو كتب للغرب ما يعجبهم ولا استغرب حصوله على تقديرات عالية في أمازون. على الرغم من جودة السرد وتتابع الأحداث إلا انه لا توجد مفاجآت والرواية أجمل اذا أتت بما لم تتوقعه. وكما قال أ...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Dalia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although a black comedy this book is a timely read as it reminds us that 40 years of pouring in billions to Afghanistan and Pakistan has not resulted in any structural change that actually helps any Pakistani or Afghan, but instead has just created a different source of graft. Most of the characters in this novel are actual government and military officials, and he accuses former General Beg, who is still living, of mass murder, albeit in a book of fiction- telling that no one comments about tha...more

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Jun 24, 2011 lita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel-english

The story of this book is closed by a story of how the life of Zia ul-Haq ended. I think it is the only story that Mohammed Hanif tried to give to his readers, because he wrote in detailed how the General shared his mango party with his "friends" - including the US Ambassador and Pakistan Army Chief - on Pak One, the plane that exploded and killed his life.

For me, this book presents how a dictator runs his life, how he is surrounded by guardian soldiers who assure not only his security but also...more

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May 08, 2009 Beatles24 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 palace...more

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May 10, 2013 Elizabeth Ducie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The “what” is never in dispute. It is a matter of historical record that Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash on August 17 1988. However, the circumstances behind the crash were never fully explained. This quirky book attempts to address the question of “how”. How was the crash caused – and by whom. And, there are no shortage of candidates.

Most of the story is narrated by Ali Shigri, a Junior Under Officer in the Pakistan Army. At first he seems a disinterested observer; gradually the read...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Ali Shahid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mohammad Hanif has a great writing style and construction in this book. There are two plots building up in alternate chapters to account for the tale of Ali Shigri and Zia Ul Haq. The book provides an excellent context to my generation ( born in the age of Zia), who do not have a series of narratives to explain the mysterious conspirational end of Zia ul Haq.
I started on this book after Ramadan, so the quranic verse relating to Jonas, regarding oppression of soul to Zia-ul-Haq made complete sens...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Vibina Venugopal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Its a bitter comedy of Ali Sighri Junior under officer in Air force who seeks out revenge for his father's suicide...The story moves around through the eyes of not just the protagonist Ali Sighri but from General Akhtar, the second in command., Major Kiyani,street sweeper Ali's cell mate,and the general himself..The serious plot is handled with blithe lending to the actual event of General Zia ul-Haq's assassination..At times cynical at times serious at times darkly humorous ..It's a far cry fro...more Its a bitter comedy of Ali Sighri Junior under officer in Air force who seeks out revenge for his father's suicide...The story moves around through the eyes of not just the protagonist Ali Sighri but from General Akhtar, the second in command., Major Kiyani,street sweeper Ali's cell mate,and the general himself..The serious plot is handled with blithe lending to the actual event of General Zia ul-Haq's assassination..At times cynical at times serious at times darkly humorous ..It's a far cry from the other books that we come across all the time..Language is simple and the story with some Pakistani history easily follows..He is clever writer who superimposes the fictional story line with that of the assassination...

General Zia overthrows the elected government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto subsequently executing him. General Zia was an attrocious dictator whose law included the convicted women (even a rape victim) to death...There are interesting space like the American embassy in Pakistan US ambassador for Pakistan's home, the life in armed forces of Pakistan..The story also revolves from the angle of the First lady's her stand on being The First lady of an Islamic country..General Zia leads a total complicated life where at one end he is THE MAN of the country with many cronies around him at the same time he is a kind of man who sheds violent tears during his morning prayer and all have learned to ignore him at the same time wondering the reasons behind it ., intensity of his devotion, the matter of state, or tongue lashing from the first lady to name it a few...He trusts none around him., leading a life of fear..He never left his house to the presidential house for the same fear...He eventually requests for red level security....Man who took control over the country by force was fearing the lose of it...

Through Shigri we are introduced into the illogical Pakistan;s daunting dictatorship its ongoing political bustle..In a party at the US embassy, Bin Laden is an invitee..Ali Sighri gets into trouble when his close buddy sneaks a small plane which he misses to report as he if found missing during the regular roll call..He is locked up in a prison with other political prisoners...My eyebrow raised through the muslim law on a rape trial, condition one the victim has to be testified as a virgin, condition two four men should allegedly be involved in it, condition three , the victim should be in a position to identify all of them., above all four men should hold witness pressing for her virtuousness...

All in all Hanif's writing is penetrating and I found the read fast paced..This book may not be everyone's cup of tea.,grab your copy if you can stand dry humour, I enjoyed reading it though I would not recommend to everyone ..I liked it yet didn't love it...(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Arthur rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Pakistani Air Force officer plots killing president Zia to avenge the death of his father. Several others close to the president also plot the assasination for more sober reasons and by more conventional means.

The novel is a fictional backstory to the death of Zia, a bunch of his generals, and the US Ambassador in an unexplained airplane crash.

The story moves along and Hanif effectively puts the reader into the minds of several of the important characters. This novel has been compared by one...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

(See more reviews at www.insearchoftheendofthesidewalk.com )

The Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
Waiting behind a line of people to do something is not uncommon, whether it is to deposit a check at the bank, to get a coveted spot in a popular professor’s class or to get an armful of vaccinations at the travel clinic. The Case of the Exploding Mangoes, in a way, revolves around another line, a line much less mundane. Mohammed Hanif’s tale is centered on the queue of various folks prepar...more (See more reviews at www.insearchoftheendofthesidewalk.com )

The Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
Waiting behind a line of people to do something is not uncommon, whether it is to deposit a check at the bank, to get a coveted spot in a popular professor’s class or to get an armful of vaccinations at the travel clinic. The Case of the Exploding Mangoes, in a way, revolves around another line, a line much less mundane. Mohammed Hanif’s tale is centered on the queue of various folks preparing to assassinate General Zia ul-Haq, the dictator of Pakistan.
The main character, Ali Shigri, doesn’t believe the official line he has been told, that his father, a powerful Pakistani general, committed suicide. He is convinced that his father’s death was the work of Zia’s men and he intends to avenge his father’s early demise. While he enlists the help of several contacts, these other men don’t always stay true to the plan, going a bit rouge and creating assassination scenarios of their own, which play out in ways that Shigri could never have imagined.
Shirgri’s camp isn’t the only one vying for the opportunity to knock of the nation’s leader. Several of his subordinates see his removal as a way to move up the ladder, gaining more power for themselves. These other groups of would-be assassins feel no remorse at taking additional lives if it helps them meet their end goal. Parachutes don’t always open, right?
At times, it isn’t always clear who exactly who is working together, who is going out on their own personal mission and who is even really in the hunt for Zia’s head. While the label comedy too much “ha-ha” to fit this book, satire is definitely accurate. The story may revolve around the Pakistani army and leadership, but the type of power struggle and desire for revenge winding through the pages is one that plays out in politics and business on a daily basis.
I love the way the book starts at the ending, leaving the reader with a bit of a mystery, but one that is too intriguing to allow the book to be laid aside. Because the opening paragraphs of the book come back in their full form towards the very end of the book, I had a flashback to my years of teaching The Outsiders to 8th graders. While the two books are NOTHING alike, their formats do mirror each other, forcing the reader to create a story that starts with the end. Page one lets the reader in on the imminent death of General Zia, it is just a matter of unraveling the tangled paths that create the opening scene. “Pakistan” and “assassination” are not usually tags I am looking for when I go searching for a new book, but Mohammed Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangoes manages to intertwine them to tell a tale that is definitely deserving of:
4 SHELLS(less)

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Jul 29, 2011 Catherine Woodman added it · review of another edition

This from NYT review, and I think it is excellent at summing up this book:

“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” is set in the months before and the days after the crash. Far from coming to a conclusion about the cause of Zia’s death, Hanif gleefully thickens the stew of conspiracy theories, introducing at least six other possible suspects, including a blind woman under sentence of death, a Marxist-Maoist street cleaner, a snake, a crow, an army of tapeworms and a junior trainee officer in the Pakistani...more This from NYT review, and I think it is excellent at summing up this book:

“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” is set in the months before and the days after the crash. Far from coming to a conclusion about the cause of Zia’s death, Hanif gleefully thickens the stew of conspiracy theories, introducing at least six other possible suspects, including a blind woman under sentence of death, a Marxist-Maoist street cleaner, a snake, a crow, an army of tapeworms and a junior trainee officer in the Pakistani Air Force named Ali Shigri, who is also the novel’s main narrator.

The novel cuts cleverly between Shigri’s self-told story of his assassination plans and third-person scenes from the last months of the man he is trying to murder, General Zia. Zia’s depiction is one of the book’s great achievements. Hanif summons all his satirical disdain for this pious and violent man, whose years of power have left him “fattened, chubby-cheeked and marinating in his own paranoia.” At morning prayer one day, Hanif writes, Zia “broke into violent sobs. The other worshipers continued with their prayers; they were used to General Zia crying during his prayers. They were never sure if it was due to the intensity of his devotion, the matters of state that occupied his mind or another tongue-lashing from the first lady.”
The jokes start early in “A Case of Exploding Mangoes,” and they keep on coming. There are times when the novel feels just a touch too fond of its own one-liners. Satire is, after all, a comic mode that asks to be taken seriously. Certainly, this novel doesn’t have the sustained black anger of “Catch-22,” a book that — as an early reviewer observed — seemed to have been “shouted onto paper.” But there are shocking scenes in Hanif’s novel, and the shock they deliver is greater because they occur as interludes to the comedy. One subplot involves Zainab, a blind woman who is to be stoned to death for adultery, even though this alleged offense occurred while she was being gang-raped. Shigri himself is arrested and incarcerated in a torture center in Lahore Fort. From his cell, he listens to the screams of other prisoners being branded with Philips irons, and communicates through a hole in the wall with a man who has been in solitary confinement for nine years.

Hanif has written a historical novel with an eerie timeliness.
(less)

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Sep 27, 2010 Teresa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is one of those books where you know the ending before you begin. In part, this is because it� s based on a real historical event� the 1988 plane crash that killed General Zia ul-Haq, the dictatorial ruler of Pakistan. However, if, like me, you� ve never heard of Zia ul-Haq, the book� s prologue tells you that the crash is coming and that narrator Ali Shigri will survive.[return][return]But how does the crash happen? We know that Ali wants to avenge his father� s deat...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Windy2go rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up because it is written by a Pakistani Journalist about Pakistan. I thought it might give me context and cultural insights. I guess it did. And for the few few chapters, I was enthralled. But in the end, I didn't like it. A few reasons. Reason one: maybe because I live here, and I work on policy issues, the book was disturbing enmeshed with reality, and I wasn't equipped to tell the two apart. How much of the story of Zia Ul Haq's plane crash was real? And how much was fictio...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Annisa Nuraida rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who kills General Zia?

In 1988, Zia-ul Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988, died in a suspicious plane crash in Bahawalpur in 1988. There are many conspiracy theories around the accident. A Case of Exploding Mangoes tells a satirical version of the accident. The story is told through the narration of Ali Sighri, an under officer in Pakistani Air Force who wanted to revenge for his father's death.

Started with a story of a daily life of a cadet, the novel then continues with stor...more Who kills General Zia?

In 1988, Zia-ul Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988, died in a suspicious plane crash in Bahawalpur in 1988. There are many conspiracy theories around the accident. A Case of Exploding Mangoes tells a satirical version of the accident. The story is told through the narration of Ali Sighri, an under officer in Pakistani Air Force who wanted to revenge for his father's death.

Started with a story of a daily life of a cadet, the novel then continues with stories of numerous events involving different people in different places. The events that did not seemed to be connected in the beginning, slowly developed a connection that eventually leads to the final event, which is the crash of the plane carrying General Zia and a number of Pakistani military officers, and also the US ambassador to Pakistan at the time.

When a friend told me about this novel, I suddenly think of my childhood, back in the eighties. I was still a second grader, hearing the name of Zia ul Ha q from my parents' conversations.

I don't really understand how but I remember that back then, I had the impression that he's not a good man. I think it must be something in my parents' conversation. So I think it must be interesting to read the book now that I'm all grown up and have my own point of view of the world.

I enjoyed this book very much.

This book is a trip down to the memory lane. Aside from thinking about the days when I was sitting with my parents and absentmindedly listening to their conversation, this novel also makes me reminiscing of the later day, still in the memory lane, when I was in junior high and used to spent my weekends reading my Dad's novel collection which revolves around Sidney Sheldon and Frederick Forsyth.

Reading A Case of Exploding Mangoes gives me the similar feeling I get from reading Forsyth. Perhaps it's the conspiracy theory, or the military and political nuance in the book, though not as heavy as those of Forsyth's or other books from similar genre. The writer pictured General Zia almost comically. I even found myself laughed so hard at several points in the book, and sympathized with General Zia and his stupidity.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is written by Mohammed Hanif, a Pakistani writer and journalist who was graduated from the Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer.

Mohammed Hanif (less)

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Jun 26, 2012 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

“With its dull grey fuselage barely off the ground, the plane looks like a beached whale contemplating how to drag itself back to the sea, its snout drooping with the enormity of the task ahead” (Prologue 1).
“The only female pictures are in a black-and-white photo feature about Nancy and Ronald Reagan entitled ‘When They Were Young.’ Even at twenty-eight she had the face of an old cat’s arse” (48).
“ ‘If he had spent a night in this cell jerking off to Reader’s Digest, he would have reached the s...more

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Nov 18, 2010 Mohd Nazmi Yaakub rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, sastera, satira, pakistan

BARANGKALI inilah antara novel yang awal-awal lagi sudah memberikan spoiler tetapi spoilernya tidak mengganggu pembacanya, bahkan memberikan lebih elemen suspens. Ini kerana kita sudah tahu kesudahan A Case of Exploding Mangoes, -Jeneral Zia-ul-Haq mati, kapal terbangnya terhempas- tetapi kita tetap berasa suspens untuk menghabiskannya. Di sinilah letaknya kelebihan Mohammed Hanif kerana judulnya saja sudah bikin kita tertanya-tanya tentang apa kejadahnya buah mempelam yang meletup!

Nada satira d...more

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Oct 04, 2009 Vanessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meh. Definitely not bad (especially for a random airport grab. Word to the wise - the Hong Kong airport has a pretty decent bookstore! Maybe I shouldn't be surprised?). But the book lost me about 3/4 of the way through when I was already sort of wondering if I cared to finish it and it dropped an express reference to Chronicle of Death Foretold. I was like "yeah, you're not bad, but that book does this thing that you're doing much better." Somewhat as though a character in House of the Spirits h...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Indiabookstore rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Assassinations and mysterious deaths of political figures have always been a popular subject for novelists around the world. Mohammed Hanif in his debut novel, revisits the suspicious circumstances in which General Zia-ul-Haq was killed.

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was a four-star general who served as President of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988 after deposing Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He is one of the most important figures in Pakistani history. He was mysteriously killed in an air crash n...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Bigsna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Books based on historical facts and those using real life characters are always an exciting read for me. There is a sort of authenticity that builds into the story as the author uses multiple real life characters of the time - somewhat like a conspiracy theory that you want to believe in. Reminded me of how I felt when I read The Seventh Secret by Irwing Wallace, almost believing that Hitler survived the 2nd World War and lived undiscovered and underground until the 1970s carrying on his Nazi re...more

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Jul 29, 2010 Sheila rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am not a great lover of satirical novels - to be quite honest I often don't get them! - but this one was topical, being set in the Indian subcontinent, and full of funny oneliners. The descriptions of the Americans arriving for the Texas - Afghan fancy dress dinner at the embassy are great - of course everyone came in Afghani dress - mixed politics, social commentary and sexual innuendo. The sexual references throughout the novel as well as the political aspects of the plot must have been diff...more

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Nov 21, 2008 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 the son of a colonel who was instru...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Carl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most reviewers seem to emphasize the humor, and there are plenty of witty little vignettes, but for me the humor wasn't just "black" (and a comparison to Catch-22 seems WAAAY off--that was ROFLMAO funny, although it eventually unmasked a bleak view of the military during war), it was rather bleak and depressing. At least in the USA, a leader who thought he was chosen by God to do God's work, justifying secret prisons complete with torturers, had a two term limit. Pakistanis weren't so fortunate,...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

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

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 is a saying that when lovers fal...more

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Nov 20, 2010 Steven Salaita rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel is marvelous. Hanif is often intensely funny. This skill makes A Case of Exploding Mangoes a first-rate comic novel. Like many comic novels, it provides a serious critique of the corruption of political systems, in this case Pakistan under General Zia al Huq. Not only does Hanif ridicule the pomposity and cruelty of Pakistan's military and political brass, he also skewers American involvement in the Afghan jihad against the Soviet occupation in the late 1980s. Osama bin Laden even mak...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

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

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Feb 19, 2009 Fathima Cader rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 narrative...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Vikrant Rana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's like Pakistan's "Humour in Uniform" (aka Reader's Digest) on Steroids.
Author has done a fantastic job of making seemingly mundane situations into irony filled laugh riots without raising the hackles of religious sensitivities. It's like Mr. Hanif is dancing on the periphery of Mulla's rage. I often found myself laughing loud on my daily commute while reading this book.

The book per se, is a dark comedy set in the last few months of General Zia's regime in Pakistan. It also gives some rare...more

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About Mohammed Hanif

Mohammed Hanif is a Pakistani writer and journalist. He was born at Okara. He was graduated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism. He initially worked for Newsline, The Washington Post and India Today. In 1996, he moved to London to work for the BBC. Later, he became the head of the BBC's Urdu service in London.

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“The generals who had called Zia a mullah behind his back felt ashamed at having underestimated him: not only was he a mullah, he was a mullah whose understanding of religion didn't go beyond parroting what he had heard from the next mullah. A mullah without a beard, a mullah in a four-star general's uniform, a mullah with the instincts of a corrupt tax inspector.” — 8 people liked it

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A Case of Exploding Mangoes

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